Love Amongst the Ruins
by Angelus Erreare
Summary: Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga Realizing that Serph and Sera would never love them, two hearts have no choice but to let go, and perhaps, find solace within each other's pain and loneliness. Heat x Argilla. WARNING: SEMIAU, LANGUAGE, LEMON
1. Shattered

**Love Amongst the Ruins**

**By: Angelus Erreare**

**Disclaimer: All characters featured in this fanfic belong to ATLUS USA. Serph, Argilla, Heat , Gale, Cielo and Sera all belong to ATLUS USA. **

**A/N: This is another Heat x Argilla fanfic that is dedicated to my H/A muse and wonderful yet wacky friend, Mika. I hope you enjoy this. **

**Note to Readers:**

**1. Sera is a member of Embryon**

**2. This has nothing to do with the SMT:DDS game's plot. **

**WARNING: SEMI-AU, OOC, crude LANGUAGE**

**Chapter 1: Shattered**

Argilla could feel her heart pound as she walked ever closer to him…Him…her friend, her teacher, her leader…The love of her life.

"Serph…" she said, breathing out his name.

It had been the evening at Muladhara and the moon shone brightly, yet palely. She took heavy breaths as she reached his form, leaning by the railing.

His soft silver eyes were gazing on the horizon, his soft hair lightly moving from the playful breeze, damp from the chilly drizzle. He was so handsome in Argilla's eyes…

He was a kind person; he never hesitated to help anyone who needed it. He was strong and resolute and led their tribe from victory to victory. He had been the one who had united them strongly; the true measure of being a tribe. Before him, their tribe was in shambles as they struggled to find a new leader as their previous one had died due to old age…without an heir…And then, he came.

He was the one who had bound their group's hearts together…

He was the one that bound her heart to his…

She had been thinking about this for a long while now…Long had she followed him through hell and back, never hesitating, never reluctant…She never allowed herself to look at anyone else either. He was her inspiration; seeing him strong, brave and courageous only fueled her already raging desire to be like him.

He had been the one who took care of her…raised her when she had been an orphaned little girl.

But along the way, as she grew older, as they fought their way from being a mere mediocre tribe to being a prominent one, her feelings for this man steadily grew…

At first, she had been confused…She didn't know how she could harbor such feelings and merely brushed them aside…

But as she continued to be with him, as she graduated from the academy and was put in his elite team, she got to know more about him; more intimately. Not as a child who would see a man…No…but as an equal; as a comrade.

He really was transparent. He was inside what people saw him on the outside.

Months after that…she came to understand and accept that she had fallen in love with him. He had always been there to save her whenever she would need help. He was the one who carried her within his strong arms when her legs would fail her from utter exhaustion.

He would always be the one who would drape a warm hand on her shoulder, asking her what was wrong…

Serph would be the one who would embrace her and tell her that everything would be okay…That it would be alright…And that whatever it was they were going through, that all would work out for the better.

That was why…

That was why she was convinced that he loved her the way she did him.

She had willed herself to do this for a while now…but it was only now, at this night, that she had finally conquered her inner demons and had mustered all of her strength so that she may confess to him her feelings.

"Serph…"

He turned from the railing and looked at her, his gentle smile on his face, "Argilla. What can I do for you at this hour?"

Argilla froze at seeing his mesmerizing smile. She shook her head and walked over to him, leaning on the rail beside him, "Nice night huh?" she asked, letting her loose pink locks sway gently along with the gentle breeze.

"Yes. It is." he said as he looked out at the horizon again.

She sighed and closed her eyes slowly as she relished in his presence. She wasn't even touching him and yet, she could feel his powerful yet gentle aura encase her in a protective cocoon.

"Argilla," he began, putting a hand on her shoulder, turning her so that they faced one another, "what is it that you wanted to tell me? I've sensed it ever since you got up here."

She blushed; he really did know her…He knew very well how to read her. She turned and met his eyes head on, getting lost in them…She wondered for a moment if he knew or even suspected in the slightest of her hidden feelings for him…

"Serph…I…" she trailed off.

He took her hand in his and squeezed it worriedly, "What is it?"

Argilla couldn't hold it on any longer…Her heart had beat too fast to control. Her feelings were pouring out of her heart too strong for her to control…

She lunged herself at him, taking him by complete surprise, planting a kiss on his lips. She moaned as she kissed him. She could feel his hands hold her shoulders firmly. And then, a moment later, he pulled away.

Argilla blushed, "I…I'm sorry sir…I just got carried away…"

Serph laughed, "It's alright Argilla. Now, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Argilla looked within his eyes once more, feeling cold sweat trickle down her temples, "Sir…I…"

She had thought that the kiss would reveal everything for him…But as she looked at his puzzled countenance, she realized that she needed words…

He leaned closer to her and again took her hands in his, his silver eyes, gentle and soothing, "It's not 'sir', Argilla. It's Serph…" he whispered gently, "Whatever it is…you can tell me."

Argilla shivered, "I…I'm afraid…"

He caressed her face, "Don't be. It's just me."

Argilla nodded, "There's this man…that I…like…and well…"

Serph laughed and held her hands tighter, "Well, did you tell him how you felt?"

"No." she deadpanned shamefully, "I didn't."

Serph sighed and peered within her eyes, "Just tell him Argilla. It would put your mind and heart at ease."

"I'm just…scared that he doesn't feel the same sir." she told him.

He put a hand on her shoulder, "Argilla, in life, when you really want something…you have to take a chance…And if you really love this man, you'd tell him. Chances are, he's in love with you too. And if he isn't, well, it's his loss." he finished; his eyes twinkling.

Argilla could see the wisdom in his words but still…her courage was lacking…But still, he was right. She needed to tell him.

She took a deep breath, "Sir…you're right."

He chuckled, "So, there you go. Is that all?"

She shook her head and looked at him with a steadfast face, "Sir…"

Serph tilted his head to the side in confusion but at the same time, urging her to continue.

"I'm in love with you."

xxxxx

"Heat please!" a girl's voice sighed wearily, "We've been over this…I'm sorry…"

The redhead sat on the bench, his ruby eyes once fiery with passion, now dead and dull with numbness.

"…"

The woman beside him draped a warm hand on his shoulder as she looked at him worriedly as he continued to stare at the concrete floor, unflinching. She bit her lip as she felt the guilty feeling rise, "Heat…Please…Say something?"

Her heart skipped a beat as he slowly straightened his body from its slumped posture in order to look at her. Silver met red and a pregnant silence ensued.

"Sera…" Heat breathed out, slowly making for her hand. Sera closed her eyes and breathed out evenly as he held her hand. She opened them a moment later and looked at him with grave eyes, "Heat…"

Heat shook his head, "Tell me where I went wrong…"

Sera bit her lip again, "There isn't a place where you went wrong Heat…"

He looked at her with desperate, pleading eyes as he turned his body so that they faced one another, his hands now grasping both of hers effectively, "Then why can't you…?"

She turned her face away and closed her eyes, not bearing to gaze upon his desperate one, "I…I already told you…"

He shook his head and let go of one of her hands in order to grasp her chin firmly, persuading her face to turn back and meet his. She followed his tug and opened her eyes only to be greeted by his stern face, "Tell me Sera. Tell me why you couldn't love me."

Sera didn't reply.

Heat grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to him, their faces merely inches apart, "Tell me." he said again, "Please."

She gazed at him with the outmost of sympathy but said nothing. Heat could feel himself get lost in her eyes, becoming detached from the rest of his body…

Suddenly, Sera leaned in closer, her hands going to the back of his head, pulling him, beckoning him to come closer. Heat followed her wordlessly, unquestioningly, and there, their lips met.

Heat's heart beat evenly, contentedly as she kissed him; he felt as though he were soaring up in the sky…without a care in the world…

And a moment later, she pulled away. He smiled at her; she did love him…didn't she?

She smiled back at him but it was different from his warm smile…It was a different sort of smile and at that moment, Heat felt scared…He didn't know what would happen next. All that he could hear was the dysfunctional chimes that were the erratic beating of his heart…

She pressed their foreheads together, and there, as she closed her eyes, she whispered, "I'm sorry…"

Painful astonishment was the only thing that Heat could fathom that he could feel as he fully understood what her words meant…

Seeing Heat's state, Sera slowly stood and slowly backed away from him, surrendering herself to the darkness of the shadows before slowly fading away from his sight…and his life…

Heat couldn't move; he couldn't speak, he couldn't think…All that he could feel at that moment was the sharp pain in his chest, constricting his movement and the pumping of blood. His eyes felt heavy as moisture began to accumulate within his ruby orbs.

He clenched his hands into tight fists and gritted his teeth in a vain attempt to hold back the inevitable. A drop of tear landed on the bricked floor…But he couldn't see it though…No…his tear…the tear that was the result of so much pain and grief had been washed away by the calm and cold drizzle…

Just as he had been washed away by her unloving soul…

"I love you so much…" he whispered to the cool and chilly air, looking at the spot where she used to stand…

xxxxx

Argilla could feel her legs begin to wobble as weakness suddenly invaded her veins, like a poisonous substance. He had been as quiet as a mouse since her confession. Her eyelids felt heavy; too heavy…She wanted to blink but she was afraid that if she did, their moment, their silent and pregnant moment would be broken…

She wanted to move forward and hear what it was he wanted to say but at the same time, she didn't want to hear him and would just be content at staring at him this way…

The second lasted as an entire eternity for her…It was long; painfully and excruciatingly long.

But alas, her eyelids felt too heavy and she could no longer keep up her façade and thus, blinked.

A moment later, he blinked as well. Argilla immediately turned her back at him, ashamed at what she had just done, "I'm sorry sir." she whispered, "I was out of line."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she immediately stiffened. She could feel him coming closer to her but she remained rooted at where she stood. Serph came in front of her and tilted her chin upwards. This must be difficult for her.

He sighed; she wasn't alone though.

It was difficult for him as well…

His hand left her chin and grasped her shoulders as he looked at her with his twinkling silver eyes. He smiled tightly at her, "That wasn't so bad right?"

Argilla looked at him; puzzled. Wasn't he mad at her? Wasn't he disgusted about what he had just heard?

"Serph…" she said; her pink eyes searching his…She was probing his eyes, his soul for the feelings that he so carefully concealed from the rest of the world…

No…not the feelings that he had as Serph the leader, or as Serph the comrade…

No…that was not was she was searching for. She wanted to know his feelings; his true feelings as Serph the _man_; the man behind the kind and sparkling silver eyes. The man behind the responsibilities of being Embryon's leader…

At that moment, Argilla's searching was interrupted as she felt herself being drawn to his hard chest. She let him encase her within his protective folds, just breathing in his scent; his masculine scent.

She smiled in contentment as she smelled him…Just like the fresh rain…

She sighed as she felt his heart beating calmly and wondered for a moment if he could feel hers as well…

Serph buried his face within her cherry-blossomed hair, just appreciating the feel of her and then kissed it. From there, he slowly spoke, "I'll always be here for you Argilla…Whatever happens, I'll be here for you…as a friend."

Argilla stiffened; a friend?

'A friend? What did he mean? Didn't he already understand what I meant to tell him?' she thought frantically, cursing herself for the possibility of sending him mixed signals. She immediately pulled away and looked at him.

He was still smiling at her…

"Serph…I…what I meant was…"

He closed his eyes and sighed, cutting her off. Argilla closed her lips tight. He was about to say something. Serph let his hands grasp her arms once more and took a step back, and opened his eyes, gazing at hers firmly, "I meant what I said. I'll always be here for you…as a friend."

"A…a friend…?" she repeated with utter surprise and a bit of embarrassment.

He nodded, "Ah…As a friend."

Argilla blinked several times, "But I…I love you…" she said, squeaking a bit.

Serph looked at her and her saddened eyes…He had hurt her…He cursed himself…He didn't want to hurt her; not her. She had been completely loyal to him…She had done everything that he had ever asked of her without question. And now, this was what he had done…

He could see the fragile and weak seed of hope within her eyes…He could see the ever vigilant fire of passion within her very soul fighting to the very end to keep itself alive…

But he knew that as he would utter his next words…

He knew that that seed of hope would be crushed; and that ever vigilant fire…would finally go out.

It was because…_he_ was _loyal_.

She had been loyal to him; now, it was time that he be loyal to her as well. No lies. No deception. Only undeniable truth…

No matter how painful.

"I cannot give you what I do not have." he told her firmly, his silver eyes never leaving hers; his hands grasping her shoulders even tighter.

Argilla could feel her world crumble as he spoke his words. They were like a dull knife imbedded at her gut, slowly twisting itself away within her organ.

She could feel her tears quickly forming. He didn't love her; it was a simple truth. He didn't love her the way she loved him…

'Well,' she thought sadly, 'there's no need to remain here…'

She nodded at him and laughed humorlessly as she closed her eyes, her hands wiping any tear that might have escaped. She forced them to open a moment later and smiled at him, her lips quivering slightly, "Of course sir. I beg your pardon. I'm sorry to have disturbed you." she said politely, her voice shaking, "Goodnight sir."

She tore her eyes from his and focused on the space behind him as she walked away from him, getting his hands to leave her shoulders.

Serph looked at her; saddened. But it was for the best. As a leader, he knew what it was like to make hard decisions…It was hard because it entailed that for the greater good of the tribe, something or someone must be sacrificed…

He was doing this for her anyway; it was for her own good.

He didn't want her to possess false hope. Because in the matters of the heart, there was nothing more devious and vile than to lead a person around only to crush their hopes and dreams as if they were insignificant.

He didn't want that for her…

Serph _did_ tell her the truth though; no matter what happened; no matter what she did or what happened in between them, he would always be her friend.

It wasn't just that that pained him to see her this way. A leader would always suffer at seeing his men suffer…But a father would die a thousand deaths only to be resurrected and die once more at seeing his child writhe in agony and grief.

And that was what he was feeling at the moment as he watched her walk away from him. She was more than just a soldier to him…She was family; she was his friend, a comrade…a daughter.

xxxxx


	2. Misery Breeds Company

**A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1. **

**WARNING: SEMI-AU, OOC, LANGUAGE**

**Chapter 2: Misery Breeds Company **

Argilla had waited until he was out of sight and was within the warm comforts of her dull, but familiar room, when she had decided to dismiss her ever cheerful façade. She fell on her bed with great force, face first, and sobbed uncontrollably.

She had just poured her heart out to the man that she most trusted…But he broke her heart and shattered it in a million pieces.

"He had told me to take a chance…" she whispered sadly, shutting her eyes tightly.

He did tell her to take a chance; to take the deep plunge…But like she feared, it was the plunge of the dark abyss. The dark abyss of sorrow, pain and humiliation was all that awaited her falling body.

Her tears trickled down her face uncontrollably and onto her pillows. She wanted to calm herself but nothing would work. Her body simply refused to cooperate and willed her mind to comply and let it mourn…

She hated herself right there; not only had she told her leader her most fragile secret but…she had also made an utter and complete fool of herself.

What would he say to her now? What would she say to him? How would they look at each other tomorrow? The day after that? When they were together on a mission; how would she face him then?

She sighed, feeling the halting of her tears. She flipped herself over so that she lay on her back and stared blankly at the ceiling. She groaned, "Stupid…! I shouldn't have said anything…" she whined to herself.

Of course he wouldn't love her. She should've known better. Serph had always put the tribe first rather than his own sense of pleasure or comfort. Why would he love her? Why should he? He probably thought of her as nothing more than just a comrade…

"As a friend…" she choked out.

Or as a sister.

She paled at that thought.

Argilla clutched her heart as she felt a searing pain deep within. It hurt. It hurt too much. He was the only one that she had ever loved…She had offered him her heart and had asked nothing in return…But he had refused her and had given it back to her without a moment's hesitation…

She sighed again.

'Maybe I've been blind…' she told herself. Maybe she had chosen the wrong person to love…She gritted her teeth as she felt frustrated. It mattered not whether he was the wrong person or the right one. It didn't change the fact that he was the one that she loved.

Serph was the one that her heart and body screamed for. He was the one that she had longed for, for a long time. Him and no one else…

But still, it was over. He didn't love her.

She growled at herself as she sat up, seeing her pitiable self at the mirror. She was wallowing in self pity; self pity that she vowed never to feel.

Hypocrite.

That was the word that floated on her self consciousness.

She frowned and looked away, feeling angry at herself. She didn't feel angry at him; no, she reserved that feeling for herself. She hated herself for blinding herself into thinking that he could ever love someone like her. She hated herself for believing him; she hated herself for being taken with his advice.

Take a chance.

'Well, that's the last time I make a fool out of myself…' she thought to herself with burning resolution. Without another thought, she forced herself to leave her bed. She looked from left to right; the four walls of her dull and small room beginning to suffocate her.

She needed some air.

xxxxx

Heat didn't know how long that he had been there on that bench. He neither knew nor did he care. His heart was steady and his breathing, even. No tears formed within his eyes. There was no pain, no unpleasant feeling within his gut or his body.

There were no protesting voices within his mind; there were no voices that shouted, yelled, growled or snarled. There was only absolute calmness and eerie silence within his consciousness…

The only thing that he could hear was the soft whispering of the breeze and the soft trickle of the rain…

He straightened his body and leaned back on the bench, not caring that his hair, once damped, was now soaked through with rain. He didn't want to move from that spot.

It was the spot where she had sealed his fate.

He furrowed his eyebrows, confused. She had not even told him the reason for her refusing him. He laughed bitterly; he had been there for her for as long as he could remember…She and he had been friends ever since their childhood. When their parents had died, they had wandered the earth together, not knowing what they were to do or where they were to go…

That was when they had been found by their tribe, Embryon. That was ten years prior. Sera had grown up into a beautiful young woman; she was now a reliable soldier…But even as she had changed so much, so drastically, the essence of her soul had remained untainted from all the bloody battles that they had fought…

That was what he loved about her.

In the midst of all the fighting, of all the corpses and of the sea of blood, his Sera remained to shine as bright and pure. She was the epitome of uncorrupted strength…And throughout her victories and defeats, he had always been there. He had caught her back when she was on the verge of falling.

He had held her soft hand in his every step of the way, being her mother, father, brother, friend…

He smiled a bit as he remembered her warm smile and her sparkling silver eyes when she used to hold his hand, urging him to accompany her at the tribe social gatherings…He had never really been much of a social person but she had always encouraged him…

He smiled weakly.

It was all in the past now.

He sighed and closed his eyes; she had refused him yet again. Yes. This wasn't the first time that he had professed his love for her…And it wasn't the first time that she had refused him either.

He always used to ask her why…He used to tell her that he was the strongest within their tribe; more than capable of protecting her and providing her of all the things that she would need…

But she would always tell him the same thing, over and over again.

"_Strength isn't everything Heat…"_

He suddenly narrowed his eyes and let a breath of anguish escape his quivering lips. What did she mean? What did that mean? In their world, the strong survived and the weak perished.

He had done everything that he could to be with her. He had been a boy of promise when they had first arrived at the tribe. He quickly proved himself as a powerful warrior and had risen quickly through the ranks…

There was even a time that he had aspired to become the leader of their tribe; but that position had already been occupied. He wasn't bitter about that though…All that he had ever cared about was her.

Even as his career soared, he always had her as his top priority, never letting her be forsaken…And over time, his love for her evolved. He had wanted to take care of her for the rest of his life…

He saw her…not as a needy girl…but as a woman.

He stiffened as he recalled another memory. He had been her whole family. That was why she couldn't love him as anything else but.

He sighed; the first time he had confessed, she had been shocked but knowing her innocence, she had merely laughed at it. When he asked why, she told him what had damned him from the beginning.

"_You're my brother Heat! Stop being silly!" she laughed heartily._

'A brother…That's all I'm ever going to be to her…' he thought with utter sadness.

He growled again at the memory. It was all in the past.

She was independent now; she didn't need him…Not anymore.

Suddenly, a sharp prick of pain penetrated his heart and he could have sworn that it was a sharp arrow that had struck him; a physical wound rather than an emotional one. He really should just move on…But it was just damn difficult.

"She doesn't need me anymore…" he repeated, aloud, "She'll be fine on her own."

Suddenly, he heard a noise. He perked up his ears. It was the sound of soft footsteps beating against the wet ground. He gave no attention to it, thinking that whoever it was could just go to hell for all he cared.

He really wasn't interested in who it might be anyway…And he knew, with a hundred percent accuracy and confidence that whoever that person was, wasn't his Sera. No. His Sera's footsteps were lighter than those that he was hearing.

And so, he allowed himself to revel in the memory of his beloved…

His visions of her were suddenly interrupted as the sound of the footsteps came closer. He waited until the footsteps were near enough and then, he turned his head and saw a pink-haired woman.

He raised an eyebrow. It was quite late at Muladhara. Rare did he see anyone to be out and about at that grave hour. And a woman at that. She was a tall woman with pink hair that was put on two Chinese buns.

He really couldn't care any less about what she did though. That was her own business…He turned from looking at her and let his ruby eyes meet the ground once more and thought not of the pink-haired woman but of his ebony-haired princess.

He sighed.

A long silence thus ensued.

A moment later, there. He heard it.

It was a sigh…But it came not from his lips, but from his estranged companion; if she could even be called that…

Distracted from his thoughts, he turned to look at her again. She was seated on one of the benches, a few feet away from his, her eyes having that faraway look in them. He forced his ruby eyes to focus on her again and there, he knew that he had recognized her. She was part of the leader's elite team; their master sniper.

He had heard of her. Sera had often mentioned of her, as she herself had idolized the pink-haired woman, wanting to be like her.

Heat raised a curious eyebrow; why was she there in the first place?

He then shrugged, 'Who the fuck cares?' Deciding that her presence was distracting him, he stood up and began to walk away.

xxxxx

Argilla blinked as she saw a man within their park. Well, it wasn't even a park. It was just a place for soldiers to relax and sit…

It was late; way past midnight.

She didn't expect anyone to be awake. But, as plain as day, there was someone else. Not caring, she sat down, her thoughts still within their leader.

'Why can't he love me?' she asked herself.

Was she really that hard to love?

She furrowed her eyebrows; perhaps it wasn't her. Perhaps her leader had already found someone else to love…

Her heart stopped at that and she stiffened. No. It couldn't be…

But then, she sighed; maybe…

She stole a glance at the man again as she heard a rustling noise coming from his direction.

He was leaving.

'Yeah…another man who is leaving you.' a voice spoke snidely from the back of her head.

She blinked, 'I don't even know him!' she mentally protested.

The voice snorted, 'That's exactly the point! He doesn't even know you and already he's repulsed by you!'

'…'

She couldn't argue with that…

Still looking at him from the corner of her eyes, she noticed him take steps further and further away.

And once more, she was alone.

xxxxx

It was the third night now since Heat had been sitting on that bench. He knew that he should move on but he just couldn't. It was something that was easier said than done…

He still saw her though…

'Every damn day…' he thought sadly.

Suddenly, he heard a noise. Arching an eyebrow, he turned to his left and again, there sat his "companion" of sorts. He looked at his watch. It was half past midnight. He stole a glance at her. Now, with the help of the streetlights and his own motivation, he got a more detailed look at his "companion" of sorts.

Her eyes were fixed at the horizon, never moving but occasionally blinking. She had that faraway look; her body was physically there, with him, but her mind was elsewhere.

It wasn't that he cared…it was just that her facial expression, the one that she was having at that moment seemed so familiar to him…

He had seen it before. But where?

'Where else you bonehead?' his inner self snorted. Heat narrowed his eyes. Of course he knew. He had seen it in himself, within his own face and eyes countless of times…

Whenever he would get rejected.

He cast his face downwards and frowned; so, he wasn't alone. There was someone else like him who was foolish enough to fall in love and have her heart broken…

He stole a glance at her again, and there, he saw a lone tear slowly trickle down her cheek. He empathized with her, to be sure. But her business was her own. And his was his. So, standing, he began to walk away. He needed to turn in for the night. He had a special assignment that he needed to do and an important briefing that he needed to prepare for.

xxxxx

Argilla walked through the halls of their HQ. Serph had called them all in, their elite team, for a special announcement. She groaned; she really couldn't care any less. As of late, she hadn't had a night's decent sleep.

Whenever she would close her eyes, she would see his smiling face. That would always force her up and out of her bed and into the empty streets of Muladhara, wandering aimlessly, until she'd tire and sit on one of benches.

She raised an eyebrow; every time that she would be there, she'd always find a man sitting there, as alone as she was.

Yes; the red-haired man.

Night after night, at the same time, at the same place and at the same bench, she would always find him sitting there. Alone. And like always, after half an hour of sitting there together, he would always stand and walk away.

It was the same routine over and over.

Oh well.

But, this was hardly the time to be contemplating on such things.

Sighing at her own exhaustion and lack of interest, she dragged herself through the hallway and into the Strategy Room. She walked in lazily, seeing that it was just Serph and she. She looked around and saw that her other teammates had yet to arrive.

She blinked in surprise; and here she thought that she was going to arrive there, late.

Serph looked at his female friend with a worried expression. She wasn't looking at him but had her face looking from left to right, probably wondering where the others were. He sighed; she looked too weary. Her eyes were bloodshot and the skin around the eyes were dark; a definite sign of insomnia.

Her cheeks were drooping and her lips set on a pouting countenance. He wanted to smile at that; her cheeks and lips looked cute…It was just her eyes that made the difference.

She had been like this everyday for the last three days now.

Three days. He nodded in understanding. She was still sore about that issue; she had still to get over it. He felt ashamed at that moment; after all, it was he who had driven her to be in this state.

Feeling his paternal instincts surface, his silver eyes blazed in determination. He would help her in any way possible.

Argilla could feel herself become increasingly uncomfortable. It was just Serph and her within the room. She could feel sweat beginning to form by her temples…Couldn't the others get there any faster?

Serph would do anything to get her smile back. His thoughts were suddenly rudely interrupted as the doors slid open, letting the others walk in.

Argilla turned herself around and saw her salvation walk in; her teammates. Gale and Cielo. She looked at Gale and saw his lazy and expressionless face. She smiled; it was still one of her personal missions to get that man to smile…

She then looked at Cielo, still ever amazed at his never-tiring upbeat countenance. He would always bounce within the room, bringing with him more energy than anyone could ever really need. She sweat-dropped. If Gale needed a stimulant, a drug that elevated mood, Cielo needed a tranquilizer.

"Serph," Gale's voice calmly spoke, "what is going on?"

Cielo took a seat and crossed his arms, "Ya brudda. Wat's happenin'?"

Serph looked at each of them and then nodded, his face serious, "I've called you all here to make an announcement."

The three straightened up; an announcement. What could it be?

"I've decided to add another member to our team."

Argilla blinked; another member? Well, it was fine by her. The more the merrier. Serph always had an excellent choice of character. She trusted him then and she trusted him now. Whoever the rookie was, he or she would definitely be one of the best.

The doors suddenly slid open and the three turned to see who it was.

Argilla's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as she beheld the person in front of her. It was the read-haired man from the park!

She took in his features, now fully illuminated by the lights. She arched an eyebrow; he was handsome. His fiery red hair was quite messy yet in place; framing his carefully carved face handsomely. His blazing eyes were as hot as fire, shining and glowing fiercely, conveying the inner strength of a warrior within.

His body was built, only hinting at his physical prowess. She nodded in approval; he was even more built that the three men in the room!

She had to admit; he did look pretty good.

He walked closer to her and there, she saw him narrow his eyes slightly as he beheld her from the corner of his eyes. No doubt about it; he recognized her as well.

She was thrown out of her reminiscing as she heard Serph's voice, "Everyone, this is Heat. He is our new member."

"Great! Another member! Dis is so cool ja?" chirped Cielo convivially.

Gale smiled and crossed his arms, "I agree. Another member is an advantage."

The rest of the world blurred for Argilla as she looked at Heat's eyes. They were looking at hers as well. This was the depressed man that she had been seeing for the last three nights? It seemed so impossible for him…but, her eyes did not lie.

Serph raised an eyebrow as he saw Heat and Argilla. They were transfixed on one another…He could only speculate…

xxxxx

Heat followed the female in front of him casually. He wasn't surprised at seeing her that morning. He knew from the beginning who she was…But what he didn't count on was seeing her up close and personal.

Being within the crowds before, he never really got a good look at her…

Until that morning, that is.

She had transgressed his earlier expectance of her. She was indeed as the rumors suggest; beautiful yet deadly. She was after all, the master of espionage within the tribe and a deadly-accurate sniper.

But, despite her beauty, he did not find her attractive.

Not really. How could he when his heart and mind were still preoccupied with his black-haired angel?

He sighed, 'Not now damn it!'

Yes. He may be head over heels in love with Sera, but his priorities clearly told him to set it aside and focus at the matters currently at hand. Argilla had been assigned by Serph to show him his new quarters and had been asked to brief him about the info of their new team as well as new training exercises schedules.

Needless to say, Heat was not all that excited. Although he knew he should be; this was a drastic change in his career.

But still, he really didn't appreciate being treated like a new student at the local prep school. He didn't mind Argilla showing him his new quarters, but actually having her as a partner?

Yup.

She wasn't just his guide. She had been assigned as his new partner and coach. Serph usually remained within Muladhara and only ventured out with the team when the missions were of outmost importance or when he led the entire army for battle. Otherwise, the team was on its own.

Argilla had told him that Gale and Cielo had always been partners while she did missions with Serph or, at rare occasions, by herself.

"Heat? Are you listening to me?"

Heat forced his eyes to focus; oh. She had already stopped walking and was now looking at him.

"Huh?"

Argilla rolled her eyes, "We're here."

Heat nodded and walked past her, not sparing her another glance. He just wanted to be alone. He really didn't need her useless companionship. Besides, with things still being equal, he'd probably see her again that night anyway.

"Oh, and you and I are to assemble at the Strategy Room at 0500 hours." she told him.

He stopped, "Alright." he replied curtly before stepping into the room altogether, letting the sliding doors slide shut.

"Well, that went well." Argilla commented casually, to no one in particular.

xxxxx

The sun had set, and the rain had began to drop on the bricked streets of Muladhara. The rest of the world had already turned in for the night. Argilla was well aware of what she had told Heat…

Assemble at the Strategy Room at 0500 hours. She should be asleep; but once again, she found herself unable. Slowly, she left her room and walked out of the barrack. Again, she trudged the empty streets and again found herself walking towards the park.

Her heart was feeling heavy once more the more steps she took towards her now favorite spot. Throughout the days, she had continued to act nonchalant whenever she would be around Serph…which was pretty much, much of the day.

She still loved him; there was no doubt about that…And looking at him only hurt her…That was why she used the night to be alone; to let loose all of the feelings of fatigue and anguish and let them seep out of her body…being washed away in the rain…

She looked to the night as the time that she could finally be herself again…her hurting self. As a soldier, it was expected of them to hold their emotions and follow orders without question…Before, she could do that in a heartbeat; but as of late, she had found herself to be emotionally battered for obvious reasons that she had to wait for the darkness to come in order to free her raging emotions of sadness and self loathing…

So, again, she found herself walking towards her bench.

She sat herself there easily and closed her eyes, sighing. A moment later, she opened them again, feeling a strange sensation within her chest. She looked up and blinked in surprise as she found Heat's bench to be empty.

She laughed bitterly; he probably left because they now knew of one another's identities and deemed to it be too awkward…

People usually act the way they did or say what they said audaciously because they hide behind the mask of anonymity…

But now, that was no longer a fact as their identities had already been revealed.

She sighed again; it wasn't that she cared for Heat in the least…But, over the past few nights, his presence had been…comforting. She didn't feel all that alone when he was there with her at night.

She snorted at that, 'Misery breeds company…'

"I knew you'd be here tonight." a deep male voice spoke from behind her.

Argilla sharply turned around, "Heat!" she said, startled.

He quirked an eyebrow as he walked in front of her, peering into her pink eyes, "I thought you were the mistress of stealth."

Argilla blushed; she was. Well, she was supposed to be…

Wanting to divert the attention away from herself, she looked at him, "And what about you soldier? Why are you still awake? I told you that we have to assemble by 0500 hours." It was a cheap shot and she knew it; using her rank of seniority to box him in.

Heat smirked within; he saw right through her pathetic attempt to draw attention away from herself, "The same could be said about you _ma'am_." he drawled. They were practically the same rank now, seeing that they were on the same team. The only thing that she had on him was that she had been on the team longer than he had.

A year ahead to be more precise.

Argilla sighed and patted the space next to her, "Make yourself at ease soldier."

Heat didn't know why, he really wasn't interested on sitting or hearing her woes, but he found himself taking her offer. He had gotten used to seeing her there and so, her presence had become…familiar.

The two didn't look at each other and spoke no words.

Argilla could feel the heat radiating from her silent companion and for the first time in days, she allowed herself a weak but genuine smile.

Heat said nothing and did not look at her, but he felt strange. He could feel her aura intermingle with his. It was a curious sensation, really. He didn't know how to express it…but somehow, her presence alleviated his suffering…even if just in a small percentage.

There were no comforting words or touches, no profound realizations about life…No…

There were just he and she…alone, sitting beside one another on that bench, each struggling with his and her own conundrum…neither asking for the other for aid…

But for some elusive reason or justification, they simply felt content.

It was just that each knew that the other realized and comprehended what it was that they were going through…There was no need to ask for confirmation; a look within the other's eyes would suffice.

That; that sense of empathy was what made all the difference.

So, the two looked onwards, each within their own little worlds…reaching a newfound sense of friendship and camaraderie…

In the end, misery did breed company.

xxxxx


	3. Friends at Odd Places

**A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1. **

**WARNING: SEMI-AU, OOC, LANGUAGE**

**Chapter 3: Friends at Odd Places**

It had been the tenth night now. Argilla and Heat sat on the same bench, looking blankly at the darkened horizon of Muladhara.

Argilla looked at Heat. It was funny really. During the day, they were fully functional soldiers, ready for action. But at night, they were but mindless zombies.

The good thing was that they had been partners in both worlds; both when being a soldier and being a zombie.

She had nodded in approval about Heat's performance though. She had been his coach for a week now, and he had proved himself to be more than worthy to be a part of their team. She remembered smiling then…She was smiling now too.

It was just such a shame that someone so dedicated and someone so strong…could be the fragile and troubled man that she now sat with. Taking a deep breath, she ventured into the unknown, "Heat…?"

Snapping out of his daze, he looked at her blankly, "Yeah?"

Argilla could feel her face burn and her body beginning to squirm; what was she supposed to say again? His eyes were making her uncomfortable…

'It's just Heat! God! What's wrong with you?!' she said to herself, psyching herself.

"So, what do you think of Serph and the others?" she asked evenly, effectively concealing her real motive; to find out what brought him out there, on that bench, with her, every night.

'With me?' she gulped mentally. Well, it wasn't "with her" per se, but the meaning was understandable.

Heat leaned back and redirected his gaze elsewhere as he pondered her question. He really didn't care much, but he supposed that breaking the monotony of thinking about self-pity was a welcomed break.

"Gale's a rock. Cielo is retarded and Serph is a goody-two-shoes kind of guy." he replied to her nonchalantly; his eyes expressionless, bland.

"Oh." was all she could say.

Well? What now?

"Why do you ask Argilla?" he suddenly asked, breaking her from her reverie. Argilla blinked, "Oh…! Well, it's just like a routine personnel appraisal…Nothing of concern." It was a nice excuse; totally seamless.

Heat raised an eyebrow; a personnel appraisal? Sure, he had heard of those! He had been doing those since…forever! But why would Argilla be asking him about those sorts of things in the middle of the night…?

Most especially when they were off duty?

He smirked mentally, 'Because she's looking for a good ice breaker.' He rolled his eyes. Why would she want to do that?

'Maybe she wants to make sure that the person sitting right next to her wasn't some psycho.' he mentally reasoned with himself.

'That is a plausible possibility.' he concurred.

'He's closing himself in.' Argilla deadpanned to herself. She sighed; she really wanted to get to know her partner better. She reckoned that if she did, it would prove to be good esprit de corps. They would be cohesive and more effective as a team.

They would be able to perform their missions at the optimal level; or even more. That was all that mattered; their missions, their performances.

"You know, I've been in the Embryon for as long as I could remember."

Heat turned to look at her; she was speaking to him? Well, there was no one else there anyway! It had got to be him!

He gazed at her evenly; eyeing her dreamy expression warily. Was she sharing something with him?

'Like I care.' he snorted.

"My parents were the ones who had joined Embryon…before Serph had been leader, of course. I was a child at the time."

Why was she telling him all of this? Didn't she already understand from their silent meetings together that he didn't care? And couldn't care any less?

"Back then…I had a playmate…" Argilla suddenly paused, "A boy."

Heat closed his eyes, still perfectly quiet; if he pretended to be asleep, maybe she'd take the hint and shut her trap.

"He had been older than me…We used to play together all the time…Then…when my parents died, he was the one who took care of me."

Heat suddenly froze.

Argilla had someone else take care of her other than her parents? Her childhood friend, to be more precise…He blinked several times as his body stiffened; it was déjà vu. All of a sudden, he wanted to hear more.

Argilla could feel the sudden change in her partner's demeanor. It was something that she had picked up during their "closeness" for the last ten days; to be able to intercept and interpret his signals.

Judging the way he was breathing and his straightened posture, she could tell that he was curious about what she had said and had wanted her to continue. She smiled tightly; that was progress.

"He was the one who dressed me, taught me things…He had been my only family…"

Heat wondered…He wondered how this story was to end. Her story had been so similar to that of his and Sera's that he couldn't help but wonder to its conclusion.

He looked at her intently now, waiting for her next words. She slumped forward and put her chin within her palms with her elbows situated on her knees, "I felt so grateful to him…He was my whole world…"

She suddenly sighed, "He still is."

Heat raised an eyebrow; this person…this man was still with her?

'Who could it be then?' he mentally asked.

She suddenly laughed and straightened up, stretching a bit. When she was done, she looked at Heat with a warm smile, "Sorry about the boring monologue."

Heat could only nod, "It's fine."

He was disappointed that she did not finish her story. A large part of him wanted to know what happened and as to who that person was…

"What about you Heat? How long have you been in the tribe?" she asked him.

"Ten years." he deadpanned coldly.

Argilla nodded, "I see…"

Silence once more encased the two. Argilla sighed; maybe she should just give up. Opening up a man like Heat was like asking the sun to freeze. Totally impossible.

Argilla looked up at the sky and smiled as she saw the moon. Opening her mouth, she unconsciously spoke, "I love the moon…" she trailed off dreamily.

Heat made a confused face; what the hell was she talking about? First she wanted to talk about personal details and now she was talking about "loving the moon"? He blinked; was it really that easy for her to change topics? To be able to change them without further thought of the previous one?

Wouldn't that entail that she wasn't all that interested to know the answers to the previous questions at the previous topics? His head spun; maybe he was overanalyzing things…

"The moon is beautiful; isn't it Heat?" she asked dreamily, her eyes hazy as she turned to look at him.

Hat stared back at her blankly and she tilted her head, moving it, motioning towards to moon. Growling a bit, he looked at the moon and his heart stopped. She had been right…it was beautiful.

The moon was full and shone proudly…yet palely.

'It looks like…her eyes…' he mentally trailed off, mesmerized by the moon as his thoughts once more meandered to Sera.

'Oh Serph…you bastard.' she mentally spat, 'Even the moon reminds me of you…' she thought sadly.

Feeling the sadness push its way to the forefront, Argilla tore her gaze from the moon and settled at the wet ground. Her hair was getting soaked; she needed to turn in for the night…Serph was going to send them on a mission after all; she and Heat.

She slowly stood up. He looked at her questioningly; silently asking her where she was to go. She smiled; their invisible bond was stronger than she previously perceived.

"I'm going to turn in. Remember the mission tomorrow Heat."

Heat nodded but said nothing.

"Goodnight." she said politely before turning away, not waiting for his response.

He looked on after her…He continued to look even as she had been long gone, "Goodnight."

xxxxx

"I trust you all slept soundly." spoke Serph cheerfully.

Heat said nothing but nodded. Argilla looked at him; bored.

Serph sweat-dropped, "Alright. Enough pleasantries. I've called you both in here to brief you about your new mission. It's not a big one; you two are to inspect the bunkers 20 miles north of here. I want to make sure that the troops there aren't goofing about. They are newbies after all. You are to depart ASAP and are to return immediately upon appraisal completion. Any questions?"

Argilla looked at Heat, who looked at Serph steadfastly and spoke boldly, "No sir."

Serph looked at Argilla, raising an eyebrow, "Argilla? Any questions?"

She turned her gaze from Heat and looked at Serph, "No sir."

Serph nodded, "Dismissed."

He watched the two go with mild interest. They both looked calm and composed, but he could see mild fatigue behind their eyes…

Fatigue?

He wondered; there hadn't been many developments as of late. Their ceasefire treaty with the Brutes was holding and hence, there hadn't been any skirmishes at all lately. He knew their training schedules and they weren't that tedious or overwhelming to their physical stamina…

He wasn't worried about Heat though. He was a grown man, older than him even! He could take care of himself…It was Argilla that he worried about. He blinked; but then again, he always worried about her…

He frowned; Argilla was doing something that she shouldn't be…

He was sure of it.

He sighed; he didn't want to do this to her, but he had no choice. It was for the best.

xxxxx

Argilla crossed her arms as they drove through the rocky and muddy terrain. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Heat looked at her from the corner of his eyes, "What's the matter? Too messy for you?"

Argilla rolled her eyes, "No. I'm just thinking why we have to do this surprise inspection, now, today, on this very day, at this very time at this very weather! We could've gone tomorrow when it's not raining!" she huffed, annoyed.

Now it was Heat's turn to roll his eyes, "It's the rainy season ma'am. We can't really avoid rain. Are you really that bothered by such simple crap like rain?"

Argilla blushed; he was right on both counts.

First of all, it was the rainy season. It wouldn't really make much of a difference if they went today or the other day. Secondly, as a soldier, she really shouldn't be bothered by rain at all!

Harsh conditions were supposed to be her backyard.

'No…Serph never used to…'

She gritted her teeth; it was all about Serph again. He never used to get her messy or dirtied. Granted she would participate in missions that involved harsh conditions, but he had always been there to make sure that she received only the light part of it…

Whenever there would be a storm, Serph always made sure that there was shelter for her while he, Gale and Cielo braved the storm outside. Whenever there would be a mudslide, Serph would always carry her to safety, never letting her boots get dirty…

'I should stop depending on him.' she told herself steadfastly, 'I have Heat now. If I keep doing things the way I used to…I might get him killed…' she told herself resolutely.

"We're here." said Heat.

Argilla blinked; they were there already?

xxxxx

Argilla dragged herself through her room; annoyed. Not only had the rain soaked her hair and her uniform, but the wind had brought grains of sand and stuck them to her pink strands of hair and on her exposed chest.

She growled; she needed a bath. Right now.

Heat, on the other hand, didn't care.

'Well, he's a man damn it! Hmph!' she mentally reasoned.

She looked at her watch; it was 1600 hours. She had half an hour until her report to Serph. She grumbled; that was another thing to be merry about.

Without further ado, she left for the showers.

xxxxx

Heat briskly walked through the halls. He had just gotten back from his mission with Argilla and wanted to see Sera. He sighed; he hadn't seen her in over a week…

Well, just because she rejected him, yet again, didn't mean that he would stop to look out for her. He smiled; she still needed him, didn't she?

He walked up to her room, which was beside his old one and knocked, "Sera?"

He heard light footsteps near the door and he took a step back, waiting for her to answer the door. A moment later, the doors slid open and there stood his black-haired angel. He smiled at her, "Hey…"

She smiled warmly at him, "Heat…Hi…"

Heat began to feel awkward. He cursed himself; how could he be feeing awkward about her? She was just Sera!

Heat looked within her eyes and grappled for words to say…but again, he found himself tongue-tied.

She blinked, "You just came back from a mission?" she asked slowly, eyeing his appearance.

He nodded, "Yeah."

Sera licked her lips, "I suppose it went okay?"

"Yeah."

The two were engulfed with silence…Sera who touched the doorframe, darted her silver eyes from left to right, wanting to distract herself from the feeling of aloofness. Heat felt the same. He didn't know what to say…

Before, conversation came so easily, so naturally…But now…

"So…how are you doing…?"

Heat wanted to strangle himself at that moment. After minutes of thinking that was all that he could come up with?

Sera turned to him, "Hm…? Me? I'm okay…What about you…? How is your new partner?"

Heat nodded; finally, a good topic to discuss.

"I'm fine. Argilla's competent."

That was it? Was that all that he could say?

'God damn it!' he cursed himself; he couldn't think right!

Sera nodded again, "Hm…that's good to hear…"

"Sera I-"

She put up her palm and shook her head, cutting him off, "Heat, I really need to go now. If there's nothing important…I need to be elsewhere." she told him firmly.

Heat's red eyes blazed with hurt, "Fine. I'm sorry to have bothered you." With that, he turned and left.

'I'm sorry Heat…' Sera told herself; clutching her heart as she watched him stomp furiously away…She didn't mean to turn him away coldly like that; but he needed to take things seriously. Things had changed. She had changed…while he hadn't. He was still stuck at that time period.

He still saw her as that girl who needed him…

He still thought that there might be something between them; like love. She sighed; she did love him…Only not in the way that he would want her to…

This wasn't the first time that she had rejected him…That was why she was all the more adamant to be cold to him; in order to not give him false hope. Every time that she would reject him, he would always come back to her, promising her that he would no longer try to get her to love him.

And she believed that…

But, the story always ended in the same way. He would fall for her along the way, all over again which would lead her to reject him all over again and would result in him getting hurt all over again.

And then, after a while, he would return to her and tell her that he would never fall in love with her again…

Well, this time, Sera had had enough.

It had tired her enough; it had hurt her enough. She wasn't a cruel heartless monster. Of course she knew how much she hurt him, both from her rejection and her now cold countenance towards him…

But she deemed that if they ceased their contact and moved on with their lives, he would eventually completely fall out of love with her…

He wasn't the only one hurting…She could feel a small piece of herself die whenever she would see the hurt in his eyes…

But if hurting him now would save him a great deal of pain and agony in the long run, then having no contact with him was a small price to pay.

'It's better this way Heat…That way, you won't have to think that you have anything to return to in me…'

Because there was nothing for him to return to. Only a sister looking for a brother; and unless Heat could return to her as a brother, Sera would only hold her doors and her heart shut.

xxxxx

Heat slammed his fist on the wall in his room. He gritted his teeth in sheer anger, pressing his jaws tighter against each other in order to stop himself from shouting. She had hurt him, again.

'What's this?!' he thought angrily, 'First I'm not worthy to love and now I'm not worthy enough to protect her?!'

He narrowed his eyes, 'Why does love have to be so fucking difficult?!'

He just wanted to lay there on his bed, just thinking of her…Her and her cruel and hurtful words…He sighed; as much as he would like to do that, he can't. He needed to be there with Argilla when they presented the report to Serph.

He rolled his eyes. Really, what was Serph thinking? Checking on newbies?

'What the hell kind of mission was that?' he asked himself, annoyed. He crossed his arms and spat, "That was a waste of time…"

But still, when he really thought about it, the mission did him some good as he got himself to stop thinking about Sera, even if just for a little while…Even if just for a little while, he could get his mind to focus on something else…

He got up from the chair and straightened his posture, making sure that his uniform was clean. He snorted; he even had to rush to the showers just to get ready. He looked at his watch; five minutes to 1630 hours. He had better get a move on.

xxxxx

Serph was glad; Heat and Argilla seemed to be getting along great. He had read their report and had not to question them further. Their report was concise and accurate; nothing was amiss.

That was good…

He blinked as he remembered Argilla. Yes; there was still the problem with her…His silver eyes became steely; he would find out what she was doing. He had a sneaking suspicion that whatever it was she was doing was doing harm on her health.

She wasn't getting enough sleep.

He frowned; he made up his mind.

He may not love her the way she wanted him to, but that did not mean that he would cease to care for her. Of course not. Nothing had to change between them. He would continue to be there for her; he told her as much.

He made up his mind.

xxxxx

Argilla felt strange as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was half past midnight and again, she found herself preparing to leave for her nightly rendezvous with Heat…

She arched an eyebrow, "It's not a rendezvous with Heat per se. It's just uncanny coincidence. Yes; that's all." she convinced herself.

'Then why do I feel excited?' she asked herself, disbelief clearly visible within her pink eyes.

She then shook her head, 'Nothing but funny thoughts…That's all.'

Dismissing the "funny" thoughts from her mind, she again left her room. It was a good night that night; there was no rain…The stars were out and so was the half-moon. She walked along the empty streets noiselessly and soon, she had reached her destination. She grinned as she saw Heat already sitting on "their" bench.

He didn't turn to her to notice her, he grinned, "You're late…ma'am."

Argilla lightly chuckled; well, this was a rather good change of events. He was actually the first to initiate a conversation.

Argilla sat down beside him and stared at the horizon, her smile still on her lips, "So, what did I miss?"

Heat shook his head, "Nothing much…"

Argilla nodded and there…again, silence reigned supreme over the two souls. And so, as Argilla looked out on the horizon, engulfed on her own thoughts, she once more contemplated on the love of her life. At that moment, a searing pain reached her chest, constricting her breathing.

Se immediately clutched her heart and her face contorted to a look of pain. Remembering that she wasn't really alone, she held her tears back.

She blinked several times, trying to think of her happy memories with Serph, rather than his painful rejection of her…But nothing came.

All that she could remember was his honest but painful words…

"_I'll always be here for you Argilla…Whatever happens, I'll be here for you…as a friend." _

She let out a pained breath, "Serph…"

Heat stiffened; Serph?

He turned to her and saw her pained expression. He felt like a total idiot at that moment; here she was, obviously distraught and he didn't even notice. He had been too caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't get to see Argilla at all…

He nodded; he understood now…

It had been Serph who took care of her…

He looked at her; she too was wrapped up in her own little world to notice him noticing her. He wanted to laugh at that; it was really a comical scene. It was the phrase "so near yet so far" in actuality.

He suddenly saw a vision…

There…on the bench with him, as Argilla clutched her heart, as her eyes dilated and her lips quivered…he saw someone else.

'Sera…' he thought knowingly.

He had seen that look…that look of excruciating pain on her for too long a time…Suddenly, not knowing from where it came from, he had the urge to comfort her. But he forced himself not to. It was none of his business. She and he were there on that bench not so that they could talk about their problems…No. It was just for the strange sense of solace at the other's presence.

That was all.

But be that as it may…

'She's really hurting…'

'Just like Sera…'

Giving into his protective instinct, he draped a hand on her shoulder. Argilla, feeling a hand on her shoulder, turned to her side and there, saw Heat look at her firmly, yet compassionately.

She could feel her eyes brim with tears at that moment…

She felt…grateful…

She immediately calmed down, nodding and then, smiling cheerfully once more, "Thanks Heat."

He nodded back and retreated his hand from her shoulder, "Anytime."

Heat was glad that he had been able to alleviate her suffering. It was unknown to him as to why though. After all, he had only met her ten days prior and had no emotional ties to her…But still, he felt glad. Not wanting to confuse himself any further, he left it at that.

He now knew who she had been and was still in love with. Their silent leader. So, it had been him who took care of her and raised her…He closed his eyes and breathed in evenly; it had been the same with him and Sera…

And now, seeing her sit on that bench with him, he needed not wonder as to how hers and Serph's story ended…

'It ended the way Sera's and mine did.'

xxxxx

Silver eyes penetrated the cool air and there, its owners blinked in surprise. He could have never guessed it. Not in a million years.

He took out his eyepiece and gathered his thoughts. So, that was why Argilla was fatigued in the morning…and apparently, it had been the same reason to Heat's fatigue as well. He never could've guessed that they had spent their nights this way…

His Argilla had been more distraught than he had previously anticipated.

He felt guilty; but at the same time, he was a bit glad.

She had not been alone in the times of her feeling this way…Heat had been there with her. He blinked again and put on his eyepiece. His heart stopped at what he saw.

Heat had put a hand on her shoulder. He suddenly felt a knot tie itself within his gut as his protective instinct jumped in. A part of him wanted to leave his hiding place and walk up to the two; to break up their cozy little get together and send them to bed and give Argilla a tongue lashing about letting another man touch her.

But another part of him wanted to see what would happen next. He wanted to know whether there was good chemistry between the two…

Because, if there was…

'She wouldn't be alone anymore…'

Serph took out his eyepiece again, deciding on the latter of the choice rather than the former. He had best leave them alone…It was better for his Argilla.

'It's time that she met other people and explore.'

He wasn't blind to her condition. It had always been him that she had been with. He was the only thing that she saw and clung to. He had always been the only one who protected her the way a mother hawk protected her hatchlings.

'Maybe I've been too protective…' he told himself.

He was the only man that she had ever seen. Cielo and Gale…those two; she didn't even consider them as men. She just thought of them as boys…but never as men…Except him.

Serph smiled tightly. Well, maybe it was Heat who would make her change her mind. So, having made up his mind, he left his hiding place with great stealth and vanished into the shadows.

xxxxx

It had been two whole months now since Argilla and Heat began their strange bond. Argilla felt strangely nice about it though…It was like having a friend for convenience. Neither talked but just comforted the other without either of them even realizing it.

With all things being equal, it was a safe assumption to say that they both changed. Argilla, although she still felt lonely, felt that her loneliness somewhat subsided whenever she was around Heat…

And Heat…

Heat had changed too.

He was no longer the stiff that she had first encountered. Granted, that he didn't talk very much and she had still to know his reasons for being there…

But…

He did initiate conversations, no matter how brief and silly. And he also managed to reply back to the things in which she spoke.

She smiled; he really did make her burden feel lighter.

So, that was the reason why she was there with him again…

But still, she really wanted to get to know him better…Better than she did right now. She wanted to know…what drove him to need her the way she needed him…

She knew that it was not her place to ask…but she could only hope that he would see that she was worthy of his friendship…and trust.

"You know," Heat began, turning to her direction, "we've been sitting here like total whackos in the middle of the night for two whole months now, and I still don't even know why you're here in the first place." he said wistfully.

Argilla was taken aback; he had beaten her to the punch.

She blinked, "You would…like to know…?"

Heat leaned on the backrest and looked at her firmly, "Yeah. Why not? But, well, you really don't have to tell me."

"No!" she said, cutting him off, "I want…you to know." she finished, blushing as she cast her face down.

Heat touched her shoulder and she smiled weakly; he did that more often than not and she felt all the more comfortable and at ease with him…

"I come here…to get away from things…I just can't keep up being a soldier for twenty-four whole hours Heat. I need to release my feelings…" she sighed as she paused, "And this is the only time that I could do that…" she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I came here…because of someone."

"…" Heat chose to remain quiet, not wanting to interrupt her monologue.

"I already told you right…? About the boy who took care of me?" she asked, smiling sadly.

"Well…he and I grew up…but I fell in love him." here, she paused as she bit her lip tightly, "But he didn't love me like that…He loved me as a friend…as a sister…" she finished in a whisper, her eyes brimming with tears.

Suddenly, she straightened her back and blinked furiously, fighting off the tears that were threatening to spill. She turned to him, "In short," she said, smiling, "I come here to let off some steam." She chuckled, "It's just a bonus that you happen to be here!"

Heat was right; it had ended in the same fashion as his and Sera's story. He nodded; he understood. It really was painful to love someone and not be loved in return. But he supposed that was the way of the world…

He peered into her eyes and saw her suffering within; she was still madly in love with this man…Serph. Yes; he had reason to think that it was Serph whether she admitted it or not.

And he wasn't going to ask her about it either.

She was hiding behind the pretext of a happy smile. He frowned and looked at her firmly, "You said that this was the time for you to release your feelings."

Argilla looked at him questioningly; what did he mean?

Heat's ruby eyes burned through her gentle pink orbs, "This is the time for you to be yourself Argilla. Then do so. Don't hide behind some damn cheap smile." he told her firmly, his eyes annoyed.

Argilla's smile vanished and she cast her face down, "…"

"If you want to be sad, be sad. No one's going to be grading you here; no one's going to be judging you whether or not you're serious about your mission enough. There's no one here to conduct a _personnel_ _appraisal_." he told her; drawling on the words "personnel appraisal".

Heat narrowed his eyes, "You don't have to pretend. Serph's not here."

Argilla stiffened; he knew?

She laughed bitterly; not saying anything as she shook her head. She froze once more as she felt a warm had on her shoulder. She looked at him and saw his empathic eyes.

Heat continued to look at her coldly yet letting his eyes betray his true emotions, "I'm here."

Argilla smiled again; this time it was real.

"Thank you."

xxxxx

Another month had passed. Heat didn't know why, but he felt all the more invigorated. He and Argilla were to go on another mission the next day. He didn't want to admit it to anyone, but to himself, he could afford to accept it.

He and Argilla had been somewhat close the whole three months. It had been a whole month ago since she had finally told him the reason for her being there at night…

While he himself hadn't told her anything.

He shrugged his shoulders; he would tell her…one day.

He let his mind drift to Sera. As soon as he did, an unpleasant sensation made its way to his chest and spine. She had been terribly busy with her squad and had been deployed in missions upon missions upon missions.

Of course, whenever he learnt that she had gone out there, he had worried about her constantly…At times, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

He sighed; he was doing it again. Treating her like a child.

'Just get over it will you?' he growled mentally to himself, 'She doesn't want you.' He then narrowed his eyes, 'She probably found someone else…' he thought sadly.

He frowned.

"Hey. You okay?" a voice whipped from behind him.

He turned and grinned, "Yeah. I'm fine. No big deal." he told her.

Argilla sat beside him, "Another night together eh?" she chuckled.

He nodded, "It would seem so…" he trailed off.

Argilla looked at him; he had something on his mind. Some heavy…or should she say, something _heavier_.

This time, she was the one that draped a hand on his shoulder, "Heat?"

He looked at her, bored, "Huh? What?"

"What's wrong?" she asked.

His face hardened and his eyes became steely, "Nothing."

Argilla felt a sting in her chest. She had thought that after three months, that he would begin to trust her…maybe she hoped too much too soon. She sighed as she felt his words hit her like a slap.

Well…he didn't want to talk. He wasn't in the usual mood of their usual fooling around…So, she supposed that she should leave him alone then…

She slowly stood when Heat suddenly grabbed her hand, "Where are you going?" he asked; his ruby eyes boring holes in her face.

Argilla's throat suddenly felt very dry…His touch…His touch was…She shook her head, "I'm getting to bed…I figured that you'd rather be alone."

Heat's eyes narrowed; was this woman really this stupid? They had been sitting together for three months now and she still didn't know him?

He growled, "If I wanted to be alone, I wouldn't have come here."

Argilla blushed, "Oh." So, she sat back down.

Heat let go of her hand and gazed back at the horizon, "I was thinking of someone."

Ah…so he decided to tell her his story after all. She found herself smiling a bit but nonetheless remained quiet.

"Like the way Serph took you in, I raised her." he told her. He paused, narrowing his eyes into slits, "We joined the tribe together…Well, I did. She was too young back then. Then…as the years went by…I just saw her differently I guess…"

Argilla's eyes blinked; it was just like her situation with Serph.

"I wanted her but she didn't want me…That sums it up." he told her stoically.

"Oh." was all she said.

Heat gritted his teeth; he felt like a complete idiot telling her. He turned to her with his eyes ablaze, "I never told anyone that. You just keep your mouth shut; got it?" he growled. Argilla chuckled within.

And then, she looked at him deeply, "You can trust me." she told him seriously.

Heat peered within her eyes deeply, making sure that her words were no lies…He drew back a moment later, convinced. He turned away from her and crossed his arms, pouting.

Argilla wanted to laugh; he looked so cute. He looked just like a child who had been punished…But on the other side of the mirror, she felt happy. He had trusted her enough to tell her about his problem…

And so, mimicking his earlier movements, she draped a warm hand on his shoulder. Heat arched an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.

Now gaining her confidence, it was she now who leaned in closer to him, her eyes penetrating his ruby ones, "It's alright. I'm here."

He felt his heart skip a beat as they locked gazes. Shaking off the enigmatic feeling, he shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the horizon, muttering, "Whatever."

Argilla smiled; it was then, that she could really call herself his friend…

xxxxx


	4. Transgressing the Threshold

**A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1. **

**WARNING: OOC, LANGUAGE, WAFF, FLUFF, LIME**

**Chapter 4: Transgressing the Threshold **

Argilla walked the streets of Muladhara feeling nothing but warm and fuzzy feelings within her chest. She smiled as she walked along the tall buildings. She had just finished her training exercises and was now walking to meet Heat at the lounge.

That was right.

After their revelation about each other's problems a month passed, the two had opened their friendship for all to see. No longer confined within the dark embrace of darkness or within the gloom of night's twilight, the two braved the world, together.

She remembered though, the strange pact that they had made a few weeks prior.

*Flashback*

"_You should stop acting like a damn woman!" Heat growled impatiently, placing a hand on his hip as he loomed over her seated body condescendingly. _

_She growled in return and looked at him with blazing eyes, "What do you know of it?! I am a woman!" _

_He rolled his eyes, "Do you really think that by crying that you would get him to swoon over you?" _

_She narrowed her eyes at him and stood, "Well, what about you huh?! Mister High and Mighty! Do you really think that by sitting here, drowning yourself in stupid self-pity would get your woman to switch sides and get on your lap?!" she half-yelled, angry. _

_Heat's eyes narrowed into slits and he leaned closer to her, whispering dangerously, "Don't you ever…ever talk to me about her in that way…" _

_She tilted her chin up defiantly, her pink orbs taunting him, "Well then, I suggest that you don't give me your shit for advice. Got that?" she finished, searching his eyes. _

_She could see that he was taken aback by her outburst that he remained momentarily stupefied before returning to his usual cold posture and took a step back, "Don't worry ma'am. You won't hear it again."_

_He turned his back from her and started to walk out on her. She panicked; she had gone too far…_

_With lightning speed, she ran to him and grabbed onto his arm, hugging his limb to her chest, "Please don't go…" she pleaded; her voice shaky._

_He stopped, much to her glee, and sighed, saying nothing. _

"_Please…" she whispered again. _

"_All I'm saying is that you have your whole life and your career to look forward to Argilla. Don't waste it. Don't be like me." he told her truthfully. _

_Argilla blinked and held onto the arm for a bit longer before walking in front of him, his hand in hers. She looked at him with empathic eyes while he, in turn, looked at her bemusedly. She smiled weakly and nodded, "You and I are the same Heat…Didn't you say that you didn't want to be alone anymore…? Well…I don't want to be alone anymore either…You're a comrade; but more importantly, you're my friend." _

_She then looked at both of his hands and took them in hers, giving them a firm and warm squeeze, before returning her gaze to his, "Friends help each other Heat…That's what friendship is; we help each other to get over problems…And right now…you and I are within that same problem." _

_Her hand traveled from his hand to his face, cupping his cheek affectionately, "I don't want to fight it alone…" _

_He looked within her eyes and there, he leaned in, whispering, "You won't have to…I'm here."_

_She smiled at him and said nothing more. _

*End Flashback*

It was shortly after that they had told one another the details of their troubled relationships with Sera and Serph…

Argilla smiled again.

And that was also the time that they had vowed to support one another in order to get over their turmoil. They both agreed that they would always continue to love both Serph and Sera…Nothing would ever change that…

But…in the midst of that, they also agreed that they would stop wallowing in self-pity and move on. There was no other way than forward…

Argilla was glad; she may not have been able to decide that on her own. It was all thanks to Heat.

*Flashback*

"_No more of that crying shit; alright?" he asked her, smirking. _

_Argilla grinned at him, "Nope. None of that. And as for you, I don't want to hear anymore of your 'Love Sucks' phrases!" _

_He rolled his eyes, "Whatever."_

*End Flashback*

That was why she had been so happy. This was a new chapter in their lives; and they were glad that along the way, they found one another.

Argilla repressed the sudden urge to add another skip to her walk as she neared the lounge. It had been a surprise to her when she had received his call, asking her to meet him there. Well, of course, she had said yes without hesitation.

She arrived at the lounge a few minutes later. Standing by the door, she looked for the familiar plop of red hair. Narrowing her eyes a bit so that her eyes could focus, she turned left and right, "Ah…there he is." she muttered happily.

She found him seated on a chair by the wall, sipping his drink. She raised an eyebrow; being a sharpshooter, she was well known for her extraordinary eyesight. Yup. No doubt about it; he was having an alcoholic beverage.

She walked over to him and plopped down comfortably on the chair across from him and gave him a scolding look, "Alcohol in the afternoon?"

He shrugged, "So? I'm off duty."

Argilla rolled her eyes, "Did you forget? We're on sentry duty at midnight."

He shrugged again, "So? It's 1600 hours. I have enough time to get drunk, have a hangover and then get sober." he finished, grinning at her.

Argilla leaned back as she made a face, "Oooookay…But the regulations state that there should be at least an interval of twelve hours…"

Heat grinned at her again, "You worry too much mum." he said, interrupting her.

Argilla's eyes widened, "Don't ever call…me…mum…!" she said, shivering.

Heat chuckled, "Sure thing _mum_…" She glared at him and he sweat-dropped, "I meant, _ma'am_."

xxxxx

Argilla crossed her arms and tapped her fingers and her foot impatiently as she waited for Heat. She growled and rolled her eyes in irritation. If only the idiot had listened to her…

Not long after her arrival at the lounge, did he continue his "drink"; which ended up as a contest for who was best at withstanding alcohol. A contest that he waged against himself. He lost of course.

Needless to say, Heat had gotten himself very, very drunk.

That was why she had ordered him to have glass after glass of water; to dilute the alcohol from his system. She grinned though how he futilely fought against her nosy hands, trying to swat them away from him as she forced water down his throat.

She laughed lightly at the memory; he had been so drunk that nothing coherent passed through his lips save for slurs and curses.

She had repressed the strong urge to slap him at that moment.

That was why she had dragged him all the way to his bedroom. He had already drunk too many glasses of water that Argilla was confident that he would be sober in no time.

She had lain him on his bed gently; well, as gently as she could and was about to leave when he called out to her, telling her that he needed to relieve himself. She could remember herself blushing at that moment at not understanding his request.

Did he mean for her to assist him in the lavatory itself or merely just to assist him in getting to his feet?

Thankfully, it had been the latter, rather than the former.

That was why she stood there, with her back leaning on the wall, tapping her fingers and foot impatiently.

He came out a minute later, slightly stumbling on his feet. Argilla growled as she immediately flew to his side and had an arm around his waist, the other hand grabbing his arm and putting it around her shoulders as support.

She growled at him, "That's the last time that I'm ever going to let you drink that much ever!"

He said nothing but groaned.

She huffed and puffed vexingly as she staggered with him to get over his bed. Reaching their destination, she let his body drop on the mattress like a rock, not caring in the least if he were uncomfortable.

She sneered, 'I don't freaking care if he's uncomfortable! Lousy creep…!'

"Thanks…" she heard him mutter.

She rolled her eyes, "You're welcome."

"Listen, it's 1800 hours. You have six hours to get sober; and god damn it, I'll kill you if you're still drunk by then! I'll come back for you at around 2200 hours. Alright…?" she stopped as she saw that he was no longer responding and was deathly quiet.

Tiptoeing towards him, she leaned down and inspected him closely; she made a sour face. He was fast asleep.

She snorted and turned to leave when she stopped and looked back at him. He was lying on his stomach and had his arm folded right on his chest while the other one dangled helplessly.

She frowned; his arms would be stiff and numb and sore…if she let him sleep this way…Giving in to the annoying, albeit persuasive voices in her head, she walked up to him again and flipped him on his back, straightened his arms on his sides. When she was done, she looked at his overall appearance and again, shook her head.

He was still in his uniform.

Sighing, she made to remove it from him, slowly, piece by piece leaving him in only his boxers. Doing away with his uniform, she set the gray apparel on his chair and looked back at him.

Her pink eyes widened and blood rushed to her cheeks as she saw his bare chest.

'When did that happen?' she thought nervously.

'It happened when you undressed him dumb bitch!' her inner self yelled.

"I'm hanging around Heat too much…" she said, sweat-dropping, noting closely the potty mouth that her inner self had conveniently learnt through her conversations with Heat.

Focusing on her half naked friend once more, she felt a lump within her throat as she beheld his hard muscled chest…

'I…'

'Looks tasty ne?'

Argilla stiffened; "Okay…that's enough…!"

Wanting to distract herself from his inviting body, she looked at his face next. She didn't have much luck either…His fiery red hair were tousled and covered parts of his eyes…Entranced, she sat on his bed and unconsciously ran her hands on his face, and then, letting her fingers travel upwards, towards his forehead, brushing the renegade locks of crimson hair aside to reveal to her his whole face.

The lump in her throat became bigger as she now had a good look over his features.

"He is so…handsome." she told herself, whispering.

She immediately slapped her palm over her mouth as her words left her lips. Stupefied at what she had just said, she immediately stood up when suddenly, she heard him speak, "Don't go…" he whispered.

"Heat…" she said, her voice uncertain. She was uncertain of what to make of things…One moment her feet were firmly on the ground, and the next thing she knew, she was being sucked within a vortex of endless sensation and unknown emotion.

"Don't go…" he repeated, this time, taking her by complete surprise as his hand grabbed hers in a tight grip.

Argilla wanted to slap him to get him to come to his senses! He was still asleep, for Christ's sake!

But…on the other hand, she wanted to do what he asked of her…She wanted to sit by his bedside and continue to ponder over him.

It was strange though…that as she continued to stand there, by him, she hadn't even thought about Serph. No. There was no Serph there. Just her…

'And my oaf of a partner.' she finished, with a sneer.

'That's right. Heat's a friend. Nothing more.' she told herself decidedly.

"Don't leave…" he whispered again.

Argilla stiffened; should she go…? Or stay?

Her answer was revealed to her as she heard what passed through his lips next.

"Don't…Sera…"

She stood there, completely stupefied…and hurt. She blinked; she didn't even know why she felt hurt! Heat was not her boyfriend! Or her lover! He was just a friend! Damn it! It wasn't supposed to hurt!

Her face crumbled and her eyes became dull for but a moment, before she shrugged off the feeling and grinned at him, "I'll be back at 2200 hours Heat. Don't do anything stupid like falling off the bed until then!" she teased him, although she full well knew that he would not respond due to his state of severe intoxication.

xxxxx

Heat snapped awake and groaned; there was a slight throbbing in his head…but it was slight. He supposed that he ought to thank Argilla for that. If it weren't for her and her consistent nagging, he wouldn't have gotten away from his severe intoxication with a mere slap on the hand but a mind-blowing hangover.

He slowly sat up and looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was half passed 2100 hours. He sighed; she should be there soon. Wait…did she say that she was coming back for him at 2200 hours? Or was it 2300 hours?

He shrugged, "Who cares? I'll be ready when she gets here." he said aloud, yawning a bit.

Stretching and cracking his muscles and knuckles, he hopped out of the bed and proceeded to the showers.

He wrinkled his nose as the stench of alcohol attacked his olfactory nerves.

He stripped himself of his…Wait…

He looked at himself and saw that he was clad only in his black boxers. He grinned, 'She must've changed me. Who would've thought that ma'am was a pervert?'

He stripped himself completely bare and turned the faucet, letting the hot water run through his skin freely. He grunted at the soothing feeling when a thought suddenly ran through his mind, 'I wonder if she liked what she saw…'

He mentally slapped himself, 'Damn bitch.' he cursed internally; where had that come from? Shrugging, he focused himself on the bath once more…when he suddenly recalled something else…Ah, his dream.

He couldn't really recall it properly…All that he could remember was feeling absolute bliss…With that encouraging thought, he willed his mind to remember.

_He kissed the woman in his arms arduously, passionately. She giggled within his mouth and tried to speak but he wouldn't let her…After what felt like an eternity, he left her full and luscious lips, trailing wet kisses on her throat and then, on her neck. She grunted against him and grabbed a fistful of his cape…_

_Taking him by surprise, she slipped past him, his cloak in her hands. She took steps away from him, prancing away like an elusive fawn. _

"_Hey…Don't go." he said to her gently. _

_She smirked at him and he ran after her. He finally reached her and there, he grabbed her wrist, "Don't go." he repeated. _

_She shook her head and pulled at her wrist again to which he held on tighter and again spoke, "Don't leave…" _

_This time, she nodded, conceding to what it was he wanted. He smiled and there, cupped her face within his hands…and there, kissed her once more…He laid her down on the floor as he continued to kiss her passionately…_

_Feeling himself a bit impatient…he grabbed her uniform and began to peel it from her body…His manhood throbbed as he beheld her nude form…_

_He looked at himself and saw in surprise, that he too had suddenly become naked…He smiled as he looked within her eyes…_

"_Don't…" he repeated._

"_Sera…" he breathed out. _

_The woman beneath him chuckled, "Sera…? I'm not Sera…" _

_He stiffened, "You…you're not?" _

_She shook her head. And there, he realized who it had been all along. Her luscious lips had set themselves on a naughty grin while her pink eyes dazzled and sparkled mischievously, "No…I'm not…" _

Heat immediately opened his eyes, widening them beyond normal proportions. He couldn't have dreamed about her…

No. It couldn't be with Argilla…

He couldn't have dreamt those naughty dreams about his friend, comrade…and…C.O.

Could he?

He narrowed his eyes, "I love Sera. Nothing would ever change that."

xxxxx

Argilla sat by the lounge, having a drink when a person sat beside her, "You shouldn't be drinking a few hours before being on duty."

She turned and saw Serph. Her heart leapt at seeing his face…It had been months since her confession. One would think that it had been enough time for her to get over the things that had happened and moved on…

But for Argilla, her feelings for the man changed not. It had been the same. She still loved him as much as she did back then.

But, knowing how he felt towards her, she fought her emotions back and stared back at her drink, "It's nothing heavy sir."

She then grinned, "It's not even alcoholic. It's just juice."

He nodded, "Where's your partner?"

She snorted, "Heat? He's fast asleep sir. He was here a few hours ago and…aa…got drunk and ah…well, I sent him back to get some rest." She then looked at her watch; it was five minutes to 2200 hours. She had promised to return for him at that time!

Sipping her juice one last time, she turned to Serph with concealed saddened eyes, "I have to go now sir."

She got down from the bar stool when he grabbed her wrist. She looked at him questioningly, "Sir?"

He shook his head, "It's Serph."

She blushed as she looked at where his hand touched her and forced herself to look back at him, nodding shakily, "Serph." Avoiding his eyes, "I'll see you later."

He let her go and watched as she walked out of the lounge. Serph looked on after her. She was getting better; he just knew it. Although he stopped following her and Heat around, he knew that they were getting along just fine.

From the time that he had been watching them, which was a few months ago, he would say that they had a good thing going on…

Although both of them may not realize it…

He frowned at that.

She had also blushed just a few moments before too. He sighed; she was still in love with him. Although she was getting better at accepting his rejection, the fact was undeniable. She still loved him and had not moved on.

Perhaps it was time to use his authority as leader to his advantage…

xxxxx

Argilla had knocked at Heat's door; no response. She knocked again; still no response. Not caring about issues of privacy or whatnot, she entered his room. She told him to be ready by 2200 hours didn't she?

It was now 2200 hours!

And where was he?

Nowhere to be found.

She frowned, 'That man could be so annoying!'

She walked to find his bed empty. Before she could react, the doors to the lavatory opened to reveal naked Heat with a towel wrapped around his waist. Argilla felt a lump in her throat and she couldn't speak; she was drawn to him…

His red hair was wet and dripped with water…and his chest had drops of water that only accentuated his physique.

Her eyes traveled to his and were met by a look of surprise. Seeing how awkward things were, she immediately turned around, blushing furiously, "What the hell do you think you're doing showing up like that?!" she thundered, balling her hands into fists.

Heat rolled his eyes, "Hey! Don't give me that crap woman! You're the one who conveniently waltzed in here without my permission!"

She growled and turned around, completely forgetting her partner's state of undress, "Don't 'hey' me! I told you I'd come back at 2200 hours!" She looked at her watch and then looked back at him, "And it's now five passed 2200 hours!"

Heat sweat-dropped, but didn't let her outburst affect him, "You said 2300 hours!"

She gritted her teeth, "I _said_ twenty-two-hundred-hours…Heat!" she hissed menacingly.

Heat rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Just get out and let me dress."

Her countenance immediately changed from being outraged to being mortified and she immediately turned around, "Er…right…Hehehehe…I forgot…"

She immediately walked towards his door and turned around with her palms covering her eyes, preventing her from seeing his exposed flesh, "I'll be back in ten minutes."

Heat grinned at seeing how silly she looked, "Make it five. I'll be done by then."

She wanted to question as to how males, and not just Heat, in general could prepare themselves at such a small amount of time! She herself took a lot of time and effort just to appear "presentable".

She really wanted to ask, but she doubted that he would tell her. And what was more pressing was that…She really had to get out of his room…! Turning around again, she left altogether, letting the doors slide behind her firmly.

Heat grinned, "Maybe she liked what she saw after all…"

He cursed himself; he was doing it again! He growled; he loved Sera. Sera! No one else! He really shouldn't be looking at other women! Besides, if Sera saw how dedicated and how persevering he was, she would come to love him eventually. He just knew it.

'But Argilla isn't just any other woman…' a voice popped within his head.

'What?'

'Yeah…she's beautiful, smart…a great soldier…and did you get a look at those killer legs of hers…? I'll bet she could crush anything that would come in between them…'

'Ouch…' he and his inner voice said simultaneously. He allowed his mind to become lax and his thoughts suddenly drifted to his partner…He frowned; the voice was right though…She really was very beautiful; she was smart…funny…silly…fun to tease…

A great soldier…responsible…dedicated to her job…

And so in love with Serph…

Wait.

Where did that come from? Serph?

He pouted childishly; yes. How could he forget? She was head over heels in love with their leader.

'Then she'd probably never consider being with anyone else…'

He suddenly felt a slight prick at his heart and he straightened up, blinking, "Who cares?"

Yes. He wasn't supposed to feel anything. What she decided to do about her love-life was none of his concern.

But then, why did he feel the way he did?

He then shook his head, "What the fuck…?"

He sighed; he really should focus at the task at hand. What task? Getting ready in three minutes. He sweat-dropped; it had been two whole minutes already?

Damn…

xxxxx

Argilla yawned as she stood atop the tower of their tribe's walls. Sentry duty was never a good job assignment…They had been standing there, keeping an eye-peeled watch for over four hours.

And so far, nothing had happened; not even a silly excuse for a flight of fancy. Nope. She sighed and looked at her watch.

It was nearly half past 0400 hours.

The sun would be rising in about an hour and a half.

She stole a glance over at Heat who was as hard as a statue and as alert as a mother eagle. She chuckled; he was too serious.

"What the hell is so damn funny woman?" he growled in annoyance, not even turning in her direction.

She sweat-dropped; he could hear her light and low chuckle from a few feet away? Well, she was right; he really was _that_ alert.

"Nothing." she replied coyly.

She saw Heat roll his eyes, "A sane person does not laugh without a logical reason."

She made a face, "And you're starting to sound like Gale."

Here, Heat faced her; anger evident in his face, "What?"

She giggled again and pointed to the horizon, nodding, "Hey! Don't let me get in the way of your duty Heat!" she said, feigning disappointment in a mock scolding voice.

He did not heed her words and glared at her, "I'm nothing like that faggot."

Argilla laughed at that, "Faggot? Gale? No! He's much as a man as you are!" She leaned forward, exposing to him from where he stood her partially seen breasts and said coyly, yet challengingly, "Maybe even more."

Heat could feel the surge of blood flow furiously through his veins at hearing her innuendo. Wait a minute. Was she coming onto him?

'Of course not you dumb fuck! She's just messing with you damn it!' he thought.

'Then why don't you mess with her eh…?' his inner voice challenged him.

He grinned inwardly and walked towards her. Removing that smug grin on her face, she straightened up her body and looked at him with puzzled eyes.

Heat sneered, "He's more of a man than me, is he?"

Argilla didn't know what he was talking about but there was no way that she'd let him win an argument. Oh no. She tilted her chin up and looked at him defiantly, "Yes. He is. Why? What of it?"

Heat stopped when he was right in front of her, their bodies almost touching. Both felt quite uncomfortable at the almost nonexistent space in between them. But, still, with the both of them being the proud people that they were, neither yielded.

He leaned in closer to her, drinking in her heavenly scent and stared deep into her pink eyes, "Had he ever thought of doing something that he had never done before…?" he whispered seductively, his voice husky.

Argilla, not letting herself crumble upon his pathetic and lame attempt to knock her off her high horse, stared back at his fiery red orbs and answered, just as seductively, her voice just as husky, "Never…"

Heat was getting annoyed; when will this woman break and back off? Wasn't she considering his conduct to be inappropriate yet? Wasn't she the one who was so prissy about military conduct? Then why in the world was she allowing all this…?

'Maybe because she _likes_ it…' a voice said silkily within his brain, 'Just look at her!' the voice instructed.

Heat did as the voice instructed and there…he felt himself being pulled into a universe of varied emotion as he peered and passed through the doors of her soul; her eyes.

And so, being drawn to her, he slowly leaned in, leaving his fate up to the gods…

"Even this…?" he asked, whispering still.

Argilla's heartbeat raced as she saw him leaning down. She screamed within her mind to stop him; to stop herself, but she found herself unable. And so, the painful second that decided their fates had passed and she immediately felt a pair of warm lips on her own.

A second later, a pair of hands went around her waist and pulled at her body. She moaned within his mouth and parted her lips, granting him entry within her mouth. Heat gladly accepted the invitation and there, a moment later, he found himself plundering and pillaging her mouth, sucking and biting without hesitation or reluctance.

To his glee, she had not resisted him either and had only returned his efforts with equal, if not more, prowess and ardor.

Heat didn't know what it was he was doing…It was a whirlwind for him. Nothing made sense. It was just him and her. And the rest of the world just suddenly did not matter.

He backed her towards the edge as his hands gripped her waist and hips tightly, his tongue, lips and teeth devouring hers…

He moaned within her lips, feeling nothing but pleasure and want…Yes…there was nothing but intense longing…And now, as he kissed her, he felt his frustration slowly dissipate…He himself could feel the intense longing that _she_ had; if she didn't feel the way he did…then she would've pushed him away.

But she didn't.

She was kissing him just as urgently as he was kissing her.

And then suddenly, he was met with a visage.

"Heat…"

His heart stopped and he immediately pulled away; it was Sera's face that he saw within his mind. It was Sera's voice that he had just heard within his mind.

No. This was wrong…

He opened his eyes and saw the shock within Argilla's eyes and face, mirroring his. Argilla didn't know what to think. She had just kissed her close friend! She slowly backed away from him, her eyes staring at his with sheer uncertainty.

Heat's heart raced and his mind reeled. No…

It was…

"Argilla…I'm sorry about that." he said truthfully, breaking the tense air.

Argilla broke from her trance and shook her head, "It's okay. No biggie." she said as she turned around, waving her hand dismissively.

"Our shift is over. The next batch will be coming to relieve us soon. You should go and get some rest soldier. You need it." she said in a firm tone, emotionless.

Heat felt lousy at that moment; but nonetheless, she was right. They were still on duty…Well, they were still on duty, at least until the next sentries came that is. He too then turned and started to walk back to his post, still thinking and pondering about their kiss…

'Damn! What…what was that?' Argilla asked herself, ashamed.

That kiss…was supposed to be for Serph. She sighed; she had poured all of emotions and passion within that kiss…She had wanted to kiss Serph that way…

She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth, "Serph…"

But instead, she had given it to someone else; her friend and comrade…Heat. He must feel like garbage right then. That was because she knew that he himself had wanted to give that kiss to someone else…

'That girl…Sera…'

She suddenly choked as she said the girl's name within her mind. But…why was that so? Heat was just a friend…

Right?

xxxxx

Heat snarled as he placed a hand on his hip, 'Fuck…! What the hell just happened?'

He let out a strangled breath; he hated himself at that moment. It had been his entire fault why that whole thing had happened. If only he had been stronger…He narrowed his eyes. That was a mistake…

A mistake; nothing more.

He stole a glance at his partner and comrade and there, he saw her fight with her inner demons as well.

He frowned as he looked away; she would probably treat him differently now.

He stiffened as he heard her speak, "Serph…" she whispered.

He frowned again as he heard it, "She's still thinking about that _guy_?" he asked under his breath.

Heat blinked uncertainly as he felt a prick of pain within his heart; it hurt. Again. But he didn't understand. Why was that so? He had always known that it was for Serph's affections that she had always vied for. What changed now?

"Nothing's changed." he told himself firmly, "Nothing."

'I love Sera.' he swore to himself, 'I won't betray her trust…'

"At ease. We're here to relieve you." he heard a firm male voice said from a few feet away. Heat snapped out of his daze and turned to the source of the voice to see two males speaking with Argilla.

Yup.

Their shift was over.

'Good. I can't wait to get out of this chicken-shit outfit.' he told himself truthfully.

A moment later, the males and Argilla broke their contact and turned to look at him. Argilla spoke, "Come on Heat! Let's get outta here."

Heat just nodded at her and walked towards her.

The two walked along the streets in aloof silence. Well, what was there to say anyway?

'There's nothing to say…All that was to be 'done' had already been 'done'.' his inner self poked him annoyingly. Heat gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes; must that pesky and nagging voice pester him and remind him of that crap?

Apparently so.

He stole a glance at Argilla and saw that she was deep in thought as well.

Heat found himself arching a curious eyebrow, 'Probably has a nagging inner voice too.'

His silly thoughts were roused as she stopped. He turned to her and she nodded, casting her eyes elsewhere…Scratch that; she was darting her eyes everywhere and nowhere. Anywhere except in his direction.

He found himself frowning at that but let it be.

Argilla licked her lips and then spoke, "Well, here's my stop. I'll see you around Heat."

Heat opened his mouth to speak but Argilla had already turned and entered her room, leaving him to stand there in front of her room, dumbfounded. He sighed and walked away; well, what did he expect anyway?

'A goodbye kiss?' the nagging voice asked.

'…'

'A dirty and sloppy snogging session perhaps?' the voice prodded vexingly.

'…'

'No wait! Or maybe a sex-invite?'

'…shut up.'

xxxxx


	5. Trick or Treat

**A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1. **

**WARNING: OOC, LANGUAGE, SUGGESTIVE NARRATIVE**

**Chapter 5: Trick or Treat **

Argilla eyed the wall in front of her with only the outmost of interest.

'I wonder what would happen if I repeatedly ram my head on the wall?' she asked herself wistfully. Of course she knew what would happen! She'd suffer concussions, have enormous and hideous-looking bruises that would make her look like a troll or possibly, let her suffer from internal bleeding due to internal hemorrhage and most probably die on the floor.

Yup.

She definitely considered that as a better option than getting a shower, getting some sleep and then waking up on the next day only to find herself face to face with Heat.

She suddenly choked as she thought of him.

He was the cause of all this crap that she was going through anyway!

"What the hell did he kiss me for!?" she seethed angrily, her face blushed beet red.

'Why the hell are you complaining?! You liked it didn't you?!' her inner self protested.

Argilla groaned, "Not this again…First Serph, now Heat…I never seem to have any luck with men…" she grumbled childishly as she walked over to her bed, letting herself topple over in, face first.

Wait a minute.

It was not as if she had ever considered Heat to be a man! She suddenly sweat-dropped. What she meant was that, while she didn't doubt Heat's masculinity, she had not really considered him to be a prospect love interest either.

She grumbled within the sheets as she remembered their kiss. She flipped herself over so that she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, "It's just a kiss. That's all. It's not as if I slept with him or something…"

That was right!

She really shouldn't be bothered! She and Heat had had a very close, albeit, strange sort of bond, but it was a close bond nonetheless; a tightly knit one at that!

'So? What's the problem then?' she asked herself.

She should just act as if it never happened! That was all! A kiss was a kiss…It wasn't anything else. It was just a casual meeting of lips by two close friends; a typical example of displaying affection for people you care about.

Yup.

'And Serph?'

Well, that was a whole different issue. But the fact remained the same. Serph was Serph; the love of her life. And Heat was Heat; nothing but a close friend.

End of story.

She smiled weakly.

'Now…what were we supposed to do?' she asked herself, touching her chin in thought.

'Oh right. Report to Serph…' she yawned. Well, the sun was going to rise and she was dead tired. Serph could wait. She and Heat would figure things out the next day.

xxxxx

"What do you mean?!" yelled Argilla angrily as she slammed her palms on Serph's table. She gritted her teeth as she glared at the silver-haired man.

Heat couldn't believe what just happened. He crossed his arms and walked up to Serph, beside Argilla, "For how long?" Well, he may not like the turn of events, but an order was an order.

But still, he had been curious as to the reason behind such a drastic decision made by their leader. Well, he would keep his mouth shut…for the time being. He had a feeling that Argilla would do most, if not all, of the talking.

It was something that he came to know about her.

Once she got going…there was no stopping her.

Serph's lazy eyes regarded Argilla coolly, unbothered by her outburst and ignored her, turning to Heat instead, "For a week. Seven days and seven nights."

Heat narrowed his eyes slightly but said nothing, 'A week of that? Just peachy…' he thought sarcastically.

"Tch…" he spat in annoyance but said nothing more.

Argilla's eyes widened in shock; seven days and seven nights?

"Are you crazy?!" she yelled.

Heat sweat-dropped; could she really get away with that? He looked from Argilla to Serph and then back from Serph to Argilla. Well, it would seem that she would and will get away with yelling at their leader.

'What a faggot…' Heat thought as he looked at Serph, 'He's too damn soft…If I were him I'd…'

'You'd what?' asked a voice within his head silkily.

Heat closed his eyes, 'Not now…Get out!'

To his surprise, the voice disappeared.

"Why?!" she yelled again, leaning on Serph's desk.

Serph looked at her lazily before hardening his silver eyes, "Keep that up and I'll make it for two weeks."

Argilla's face contorted to that of repugnance as she straightened up and covered her mouth with her palm. Heat wanted to laugh at the both of them; they were acting like a father and daughter with the daughter negotiating for the lessening of her punishment…for which she, inevitably, was unsuccessful.

"You really want to know?" Serph asked her, but his question was directed at the both of them.

Heat nodded, "Why are we going on this mission sir? Why had we been assigned there?"

Serph nodded and then looked at Argilla, "I have decided to assign you to the depot because of your misconduct. Two counts of misconduct, actually."

'Two counts of misconduct?' Argilla and Heat thought with utter most dismal disgust.

Serph nodded as he read the looks of shocked and aghast expressions within their faces, "Yes. Two. You two ought to be thankful that it wasn't the MP that caught you two; otherwise, my hands would have been tied and I would be forced to give you more tedious chores…"

Their faces fell.

Serph continued, "I would have demoted you two…"

Heat and Argilla's hearts stopped.

Serph grinned evilly, "Or…I would have had you doing manual labor and tedious chores _and_ _then_ demote you two."

Heat, being the first to recover from the shock, growled lightly, "What are the charges, sir?"

Serph thought they would never ask.

Serph intertwined his fingers and brought his elbows on the desk, bringing his intertwined fingers at the level of his eyes and spoke calmly, "The first act of misconduct is the consumption of alcohol eight hours before being designated for duty. As you both know, the regulations clearly state that there should be at least an interval of twelve hours between being in the state of intoxication and being on duty. That was the first violation."

All of the color from Heat's face drained; Serph knew about that? How? He suddenly narrowed his eyes into slits as he looked at Argilla from the corner of his eyes, livid. Of course; how could their leader have found out if it weren't for little Miss Prissy?

Yup. He was right. It had been Argilla who told.

How could he not know? The expression on her face was as good as any verbally recorded confession.

"But I didn't drink!" protested Argilla angrily, "If you want to punish someone, punish him!" she yelled indignantly, pointing at Heat.

Heat rolled his eyes; well, there went the "Leave no man behind" saying in the military folds.

Serph shook his head, "You were present during the act of indiscretion and did nothing to stop it."

Argilla's eyes spun; she couldn't believe what it was he was saying!

"Not done anything?! I told him to stop!" she yelled.

Serph shook his head again, "You hid it and didn't report it to the MP; that makes you an accomplice." She opened her mouth to protest but Serph put up his palm, signaling for her to stop, "I will not tolerate any more questions or objections."

"But…!"

"One more word out of you will result in another count of misconduct." he threatened; narrowing his silver eyes.

Argilla held her tongue as tight as she could at that moment. Heat was smirking within; did she really think that Serph would punish just him? Did she really think that she could talk her way out of this?

Seeing that the two had calmed down, Serph continued.

"The second act of misconduct, was the act of _fraternizing_ with your comrade, who I might add, is _your C.O_," he said icily, staring at Heat, "who happens to be _your_ _subordinate_." he finished, looking intently at Argilla.

The two were completely frozen; not able to say anything. So…he knew about that too…

Argilla wanted to die right there; whatever hope she might have had about the small, almost nil, possibility of her being with Serph rapidly evaporated into thin air.

Serph leaned back on his chair, "For those two charges, I've sentenced you to do guard duty, sentry duty and depot maintenance at the bunker a hundred miles south of Muladhara for seven days and seven nights." His silver eyes narrowed into slits as he looked intently within Heat's unfazed but fiery red orbs for a moment and then, over to Argilla's soft pink eyes, "Don't think it's some vacation either ladies; it isn't. I'll be checking on you personally within the week…Any time, at any given date. And I swear, if I find that your performance is lax, I would ensure that your next punishment would be…severe."

Argilla gulped; she had known Serph since…forever…

If anything, he was a man of his word; if he promised something, he would see to it that it was done. And right now, they really were treading on thin ice…

This really wasn't the time to be questioning him about his decision. It wasn't the time to ask him to lessen it either.

"Since you two are scheduled for patrolling duty for the next two nights, you both would depart three days from now, at first light. Good day." he said dismissively, turning his attention to the bunch of paperwork in front of him.

Argilla and Heat, seeing that there wasn't a need to remain any further, saluted and left the office promptly.

xxxxx

Argilla walked briskly towards her room, annoyed. It wasn't just Serph's punishment that annoyed her either. She hadn't spoken a word to Heat since they left the office and had hinted, with the help of her body language, that she was going to go to the confines of her room for the sole purpose of solitude.

What annoyed her was that, Heat didn't seem to grasp the meaning of the word "solitude." Ever since they had left, he had been following her. She didn't want to speak to him due to awkward reasons and gave him the benefit of the doubt that perhaps, he was on his way towards his own room as well.

But she saw him ignore his usual route to his "rat cellar" and followed her instead. He was still a few steps behind her but still she didn't care.

She was right outside the sanctuary of her room.

The doors slid open and she walked in only to find herself pushed forward, which made her stagger forward as another body quickly entered her room right after she did.

Gritting her teeth no longer due to annoyance but of anger, she turned and saw the lazy face of Heat staring back at her.

"You told him." he told her; unfazed.

Argilla gave him a dumbfounded look, "What are you talking about? But, forget that! What the hell is your problem?! I almost tripped damn it!"

Here, the serious look on Heat's face vanished, replaced instead by a grinning one, with his pearly white teeth bared at her, "Yeah? Then I should have pushed you further. That way you would have fallen on your face."

She stuck her tongue out, "Shaddap!"

Heat's eyes momentarily widened as his heart skipped a beat at seeing her tongue. At that moment, he wouldn't deny it. He had wanted to kiss her. He shook off his thoughts and gave her another cold stare, "Enough crap Argilla."

"What?"

"You told 'ye olde man', didn't you?" he asked.

Argilla blinked in confusion before realizing what he meant and getting her lips to shape a well-defined "O".

She scratched her head silly, "Whoops…sorry about that…"

Heat crossed his arms, "I thought that we were supposed to be trained in the Code of Silence." he said, arching an eyebrow.

Argilla rolled her eyes, "Not against Serph we're not!" she defended.

Heat chuckled as he slapped his forehead with his palm, "Don't tell me you're still in love with that girly-man…!"

Argilla growled and stomped over to him, hitting him on the back of his head, "Hey! Don't talk about Serph that way!"

He stopped laughing and looked at her; his eyes foggy, "Or what?"

Argilla pouted, "Or else."

"Else what?" he prodded.

"Else I'll have to shoot you when you least expect it." she retaliated haughtily, staring him in the face.

Heat could see the truth swimming within her pink eyes. He sweat-dropped; she really would hurt him if he said anything more about Serph.

"Whatever." he stated, changing the mood, "So," he said again, his tone now serious, "why did you tell him?"

Argilla blushed, "I didn't _tell-tell_ him you know…? I accidentally did…He was asking where you were and I said you were sleeping…and I kinda told him that it was because that you were…drunk." she finished; her last word coming out as a timid squeak.

Heat narrowed his eyes, "Did you tell him anything else?"

"Like what?" she asked; her pink eyes wide with curiosity.

"Cut the crap Argilla. Did you tell him anything about me?" he growled, his red orbs piercing into hers, "Is this what this whole thing is about!?" he yelled.

Argilla blinked confusedly; what was he talking about?

She couldn't understand Heat sometimes…At times he could be a total sweetheart; gentle and funny. But at other times, he could be as ferocious as a mad dragon.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" she yelled back.

He walked up to her and grasped both her arms tightly, "The reason why Serph put you with me! So that you could watch my every move?! Is that it!?"

Argilla winced as his grip tightened like a vice, "Heat…! Stop it! And no! It's not about that!"

Heat leaned in close to her and asked with his low tone, "Why don't you just tell me the truth eh? And drop the charade?"

Argilla's blood boiled as he continued to grab her tightly. At that second, she thrust her leg upward and hit him square in the groin. Heat's eyes dilated at an extreme rate that Argilla found it almost hilarious as he registered the pain. He froze and there, he let himself fall on the floor, his hands, making their way towards his private area, "You…you bitch…"

Smirking, she stood in front of him, triumphant. She lifted her right leg and there, set her leg down, her foot on his chest, "I'm not lying. My friendship with you is completely unrelated to that of our professional careers. What-Serph would actually send me to 'spy' on you?" she laughed here, still relishing on his pained expression.

Well, she knew that it would shut him up.

"What on earth for Heat? It's not as if you're 'dangerous', are you?" she taunted him persistently, baring to him her victorious grin.

Heat growled from beneath her but with his current state all he could manage was a low growl and the speaking of one word, "Bitch."

'Dangerous? Not dangerous am I?' he thought angrily, 'When I get up from here I swear I'll-'

She laughed, "Temper, temper Heat!" she said, wagging her index finger back and forth. She leaned down on him, putting her elbow on her bent leg and looked at him with feigned sympathy, "Does it hurt? I mean, really?"

Heat wanted to strangle her right there for even asking him! And the fact that she was leaning over like that with that annoying facial expression of hers, didn't help to alleviate neither his physical pain nor his mental annoyance.

But still, she had said that she did not tell their silver-haired leader anything. He wanted not to believe her…but he felt it in his gut; he felt that he could trust her. After all, if he didn't, he wouldn't have told her anything in the first place.

Finally, she removed her foot from his chest and took a step back. From there, she held out a hand for him to take. He stared at it skeptically for a moment and she seemed to have read his mind and chuckled, "I'm not going to do anything. Come on. You need to get outta here and get to bed."

He nodded but instead of taking her hand, he forced his wobbly legs to function and stood on his own. She shrugged her shoulders at his attempt to give her the "cold shoulder" as he dusted himself off, not giving her a glance.

When he was done, he looked at her, "I appreciate that you kept my problems confidential Argilla."

She smiled tightly, "I would never rat out on you."

He nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow."

With those words, he left her room.

xxxxx

The next night came too fast for Argilla. They had been patrolling the city walls for nearly half an hour and so far, there was no activity whatsoever.

That morning, as she and Heat had been assigned the training sessions, she couldn't help but blush as she remembered how the scenario turned out.

*Flashback*

_Argilla gritted her teeth as she hit the back of her head on the training mat; her body completely pinned by Heat, his arm pressing hard on her neck, as his other hand disabled hers completely; his legs straddling her. _

"_What's the matter Argilla?! Get up!" the training coach yelled. _

_It really didn't matter to her what they thought though. She wasn't in her gray uniform though but was just in her army fatigues and her gray shirt; fit for training. So, really, she can't use the "My clothes are too tight and inappropriate!" excuse for losing to Heat in this scenario. _

_She peered within Heat's eyes and saw how adamant he was to win. But as she looked at him deeper still, she thought she saw a flash of mischief running through his eyes for but a split second. _

_She began to blush right there as she considered their positions and wanting to fight off the annoying feeling, she mustered all of her strength and rammed her head onto his forehead as hard as she could. She could tell that he immediately saw stars as she head-butted him and so she rolled him over and now straddled him, her hands now free. _

_She could hear the cheer from the other cadets as she balled her hand into a fist and quickly delivered a blow to his jaw. Heat gritted his teeth as she hit him and intercepted her second blow and twisted her arm. _

_He used her unbalanced position to roll her over onto her back once more, his hands grabbing hers and pinning them on either side of her face. _

_This time, there was no mistaking the naughty look that he was getting in his eyes as the aforesaid look had traveled over to his lips as he grinned at her like a Cheshire cat, "I win." he deadpanned haughtily, his face leaning towards hers dangerously close. _

_Argilla frowned; no! She could not let him win! _

_Thinking quickly of a way out, she internally grinned as she saw her salvation in sight. Using Heat's close distance to her, she immediately thrust her face towards his and kissed him. _

_He was completely frozen on the spot. Argilla felt so as his limbs stiffened. The audience, who had been thus far cheering, howled and laughed as they regarded the two. _

_Argilla smirked, 'Sucker!' she yelled in her mind. _

_Using Heat's distracted countenance, she immediately, kicked him off her and there tackled him and had him in a death grip; her fingers two seconds away from pressing the pressure points on his jugular that would knock him unconscious. _

_She could hear Heat mutter a curse under his breath and would have asked him further if she hadn't heard the whistle of the trainer, telling them to stop. _

_She immediately let Heat go and there, he stood and glared at her. She smirked at him, "I win." _

_He then laughed, "I suppose so. But, watch your back! I won't let you off that easy next time." _

_Argilla's heart skipped a beat as she saw him smile…_

_It was a mesmerizing smile; she could tell…He really enjoyed that training session; even more than usual. And for some reason, she did as well._

*End Flashback*

She and Heat hadn't made a fuss about it though…They had acted that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Training was training. Combat was combat. It could be dirty or clean. But there wasn't always a guarantee whether or not your opponent would be clean though.

That was why she had decided to be "dirty". She laughed at that. She wasn't even fighting dirty! She had just used some of her "feminine" charms to win the match. It mattered not anyway.

She won didn't she?

But still, there was that nagging voice within her head, asking her, whether or not she enjoyed not her victory, but the kiss.

She blushed at that, 'That was hardly a kiss!' she growled at herself, 'It was nothing more than the pressing of lips together. End of story.'

'Yeah.' her inner self agreed.

Argilla raised an eyebrow; since when did that nagger agree with her?

'You should have put some tongue action!' the voice suddenly said, beaming.

Argilla's face fell; she should've known better than to trust her perverted self when it came to things like these…

But still, it was pretty weird, when she really thought about it. Kissing Heat was…strange. Sure, she felt nothing for him…but it was no secret that she felt undeniably good as their lips pressed themselves together…

Then, at that very second, she had a thought in her mind.

'I wonder what it would be like to kiss him everyday?'

"Man, you got me there that time, you know?" a male voice said, chuckling from beside her, rousing her from her reverie.

Argilla immediately fought the blush slowly creeping up her face. She did not just think that! It was…it was…not good! She immediately shook her head off such thoughts and focused instead on what he had just said.

She looked at him and smiled tightly, "Well, you gotta have presence of mind Heat." she said, chuckling as well.

Heat scratched his head. He had been too taken aback by her sudden and bold action that morning that he had actually lost a sparring contest.

He blinked; dumbstruck.

That had never happened before. Of all the men and women he had sparred with, no one had been able to do that to him.

Argilla chuckled, bringing him back to reality, "You gotta think outside the box sometimes."

Heat frowned; now she was dangling his defeat right in front of his face! She was rubbing it in! Well, she may have won that little contest, but there was no way he was going to let her win again.

So, wanting to play her game, he grabbed her by the waist and pressed her against the wall; his body right behind hers, squishing her in between the wall and he.

Her chest was pressed against the wall and Argilla growled, "Heat! What's the big idea?!" she asked, quite surprised and vexed.

Heat's hands had pressed her palms against the wall as well, as he leaned closer to her, his lips by her ear, his breath tickling her.

Argilla's hair stood on one end as she felt his breath on her skin and his warm body pressed up against hers.

Heat nuzzled his face on her hair and inhaled her sweet scent. Argilla stifled a moan…Wait…A moan?! Was she crazy!?

This was Heat!

Suddenly, she found herself, free. She turned around and saw a look of sheer triumph on his face, "I win." he drawled at her pompously, his hand on his hip.

She said nothing and he walked over to her, brushing his shoulder against hers and walked passed her, "Sometimes, you gotta think outside the box Argilla." he said condescendingly.

She blushed beet red.

'Sometimes…I just hate him…'

Heat chuckled as he continued the patrol with him ahead of her by a few steps. She was pretty fun to rile up. Her reactions were always priceless to him; an endless source of entertainment…

'But she did feel pretty good…' a voice suddenly popped in his head.

He frowned, somewhat, '…'

He suddenly remembered the kiss on that night. His blood stirred at that thought. Yes; she did kiss him back…Thinking back at it now, he really didn't know why he had kissed her in the first place. It was supposed to be a game…

But it felt so much more than that to him. It felt…right. He just didn't know how to explain it…

'Shut the fuck up man.' he told himself, 'This is the sort of shit that got me in trouble in the first place…'

Yup.

There was the punishment that they were still to endure.

Argilla trudged behind Heat; annoyed. He had taken his win back. She didn't even get to enjoy it fully too.

Oh well.

Suddenly, she found herself looking at his back, letting her eyes travel from there, to his legs and feet.

Her eyes traveled back up and saw his behind, 'He does have an amazing ass…' she thought appreciatively, 'Firm…and proud. Sexy…' she giggled.

She suddenly smacked herself, 'This is Heat damn it! Heat! He's nothing but an annoying asshole for a friend.' she drawled inwardly.

She didn't want to admit it, but right now, she needed a drink and lots of it.

xxxxx

It was now another night. The two had prepared for their next patrol schedule when a soldier had called them, telling them that Serph had wanted to see them.

They both looked at each other as they visibly stiffened.

They walked the hallways of the HQ building in silence, until Argilla broke it, "What is it that he wants now?"

Heat shrugged his shoulders, "How the fuck should I know?"

She rolled her eyes, "You're not being helpful." She suddenly stiffened, "Hey! Do you think…aa…he knows about us…"

Heat blushed at that as she said the words "about us". It sounded…nice. He shook his head, 'This is Argilla. Ye olde sourpuss!' he yelled to himself, scolding himself. He hated it when he had thoughts like those.

"…playing our stupid games?" she finished.

Again, he shrugged his shoulders, "Who cares? We'll find out in the next few minutes anyway…"

She sighed, giving up. He was right though.

Again, they walked in silence…She couldn't help but steal a glance at him. His face was stoic, his jaw hardened…but his eyes…though they burned with passion, his expression was that of boredom. She chuckled at that; only Heat could be able to pull that off.

Looking serious yet bored.

'He's cute…'

'Stop it!'

She blinked as she was suddenly met by the steel doors of Serph's office. Well, it was time to face the music; again.

They entered and saluted.

"You requested to see us sir?" Heat asked.

Serph nodded, "At ease you two. There's nothing wrong." he said with a chuckle as he read their stiff and apprehension-filled countenance.

Argilla felt relieved. She wouldn't know what to do should she know that he knew about what she and Heat had been doing during their duty hours…Not that they were doing things that were "wrong". It was just that…Serph was meticulous when it came to that.

"I just called you both to tell you that you are off duty for tonight. You two have an early mission. I suggest you take the free time now and prepare. Alright. You two are dismissed."

The two saluted and left promptly.

Argilla sighed in relief as soon as she left the office; she was glad that he didn't find out. If he did, it could mean more punishment for her and Heat. She shivered; she really didn't want to spend any more time with him than she had to. Well, it wasn't that she disliked his company.

He was, after all, her closest friend, well, second only to Serph…Serph had been her best friend…

But since her monumental embarrassment with him, she had decided to distance herself from him…

And, voila, in came Heat.

She chuckled. And now, after months of being solid friends, she now felt weird towards him…well, sort of and with good reason.

"Gee…glad that's over." Heat sighed in relief.

"Yeah. Me too." Argilla grumbled, "Well…see you around Heat." she waved, walking away.

Heat grinned at her, "Hey! Wait! Wanna go hang out?" he asked mischievously.

Argilla rolled her eyes, "No thanks." That was a lie. She really wanted to. It was still early. But still, they had an early mission the next day…

Well…that was partially the reason.

'I just don't want to end up drunk and wake up naked beside him tomorrow…' she thought with a shiver.

'Liar. Did you see those abs? Damn…I'll bet that he's a real good lay…'

Her eyes dilated at that thought.

"Go to bed Heat. We need all the rest we can get."

And with that, she walked away from him; not sparing him another glance.

xxxxx

Heat looked at his watch; go to bed? It was just 2000 hours. It was too early and the night was young.

He made his way to the lounge when suddenly he was met by a phantasmagoric visage of his pink-haired comrade, who, apparently, was telling him not to go within the aforesaid building.

He blinked and there, she was gone.

'I think I've seen enough of her.' he told himself.

He walked towards the pub once more but then stopped at the entrance; maybe he shouldn't drink…He frowned; but what else was there to do?

Heat let his thoughts meander as he turned and left, walking away from the pub, letting himself be carried away to wherever place it was his feet would take him. Everywhere he turned, he saw her face…

He shook his head, "What…am I doing?"

He willed himself to focus and there, he remembered his black-haired angel. He hadn't seen her in a few days…And now that he thought of her again, he realized just how much he missed her.

So, what was there to do?

Well, now he found an answer.

He could ask her for some dinner…or to just take a walk with him…He wasn't going to tell her anything that will "upset" her anyway.

'Although I want to…' he thought sadly as he felt the all too familiar painful prick of unrequited love.

He sighed and set his direction towards the soldiers' barracks.

xxxxx

Serph looked at Argilla's picture; the one that stood on his desk. He had many pictures of her…back from when she was a little girl…and up to the present.

He hadn't meant to sound so harsh…but she needed to understand that he couldn't be there to protect her all the time. He couldn't be there to take the blame or the fall for her misbehaviors either.

He had been watching them at that time when she and Heat had kissed atop that tower.

Although a part of him hadn't been surprised at his discovery, seeing as they both had overwhelmingly good chemistry together, another part of him felt jealous.

It wasn't because that he himself wanted to be where Heat was. Oh no; it was far from it.

He had always protected her from every male's attentions…and now…he just couldn't anymore and seeing it happen, well, that was the disturbing part for him.

He sighed, "She's all grown up…" He still had a hard time believing it though; in his eyes, she would always, forever remain as that helpless little girl that crawled within his bed in the middle of the night whenever there were lightning and thunder…

She would always be that little girl that he had to take care of…fed her, clothed her…Everything.

And now…

Well, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a grown woman.

That was another reason why he was doing this for her anyway. It was actually a double-edged sword. On one hand, he would be teaching her responsibility; something that he had shamefully neglected at teaching her, since it was he who had given her a life that was too sheltered…

Two, it would get her to realize her other feelings. He knew that she liked Heat; he saw it within her eyes whenever he would ask her about him. He also saw it as she looked at Heat at that tower…Argilla needed to realize this and move on, without him. And it wasn't unrequited either.

He saw it within Heat's eyes as well. Heat wanted Argilla as much as Argilla wanted him.

He laughed at that; he wasn't much older than Argilla and Heat was older than him…but in some matters, such as reading people and being perceptive, he was definitely the winner amongst the three of them.

"They're just like children playing pretend…" he laughed.

That was why he assigned them that "punishment". He had no doubt that they would come to their senses. He chuckled evilly; it was really out of character for him to do something so many people would consider to be fiendish…

But, it was for their own good.

He chuckled again; it was his own personal hidden agenda. The "Operation: Get Heat and Argilla Together."

He couldn't help but feel lousy, lame and utterly ridiculous as he thought of the title. But still, he just called it for what it was. And it really was a covert operation that would push Heat and Argilla together.

He sighed, laughing as he leaned back on his chair; his little Argilla would be so happy by the time this was all over…

xxxxx

Heat held his breath as he arrived at Sera's quarters. He knocked softly and then, waited. A moment later, Sera answered the door. Heat frowned; sadness was evident within her silver eyes.

"Sera. What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

'What's wrong?' Sera repeated mentally, 'You are what's wrong!' she mentally screamed.

"Heat…what are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes piercing into his.

Heat cast his face down, not being able to take her hurtful stare, "I just wanted to see you…That's all."

Sera closed her eyes, "You already saw me…Is there anything else?"

Heat had tolerated her for God-knows how long. But as he heard her again, using that tone, he saw red. He glared at her and forced his way within her room, grabbing her arms in a death-grip.

"Why are you being this way!?" he bellowed angrily at her as he shook her tumultuously; his chest tight with nothing but the searing flames of pain.

She whined, "Heat! You're hurting me!"

Heat glowered at her, "I am, am I?" he sneered, "Let me tell you something…This!" he hissed, gripping her arms tighter, to which she squealed, "This is nothing compared to the pain that you make me feel every fucking day and every fucking night! Do you understand?!" he shouted angrily.

Heat's eyes mellowed down as he slowly released her, realizing what sort of human being he had just become…

'I…I'm not human…' he said to himself knowingly as he completely fathomed what it was that he had just done.

He was a monster.

He had promised himself that he would never betray her trust. She had always trusted him; she had entrusted her life within his hands…because he promised, no, he vowed, that he would always protect her…He promised that he would never hurt her…

But…

He had just broken that promise and had betrayed her…It was the worst thing that he could ever do to her…It would have been bad enough if he had let someone else hurt her…but no, it was he himself who had done the act.

And now, what made him realize it?

The very thing that made him see her in the first place…Her tears.

"Sera…I…I'm sorry…" he said, pleading with her to forgive him.

She did no such thing though as she backed away from him, crying as she clutched her bruised arms, "Leave me alone…"

"Sera please…I…I didn't mean it…" he said, begging, as he reached out for her.

Sera backed away still until she hit the wall, which caused her to squeal and then wipe the tears from her eyes. She looked at him, sad and still crying, "Heat…please…"

Heat could feel his eyes beginning to water, "What is it Sera…? Tell me…and whatever it is, I'll do it…!" he told her desperately.

She hiccupped a bit as her tears continued to flow out of her eyes. She looked at him resolutely, despite her relentless tears, her lips parted, quivering, "I never want to see you again…"

Heat could feel his heart shatter as he heard her words.

Her words…damned him a thousand times over…

There was no hope for salvation…

None.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to destroy everything that he saw…He wanted to kill himself…But…if he would do any of those things…he would never do it in front of her.

Never.

He loved her that much.

And so, honoring her wishes, he turned his heel and left promptly. The world blurred as he made his way out of the barrack and through the streets. He didn't know where he was going…but he didn't care.

He just needed to get out of there.

His very sanity depended on it…

He blinked as he found himself within the park once more. He stopped in his tracks and laid his eyes on the empty bench that he and Argilla shared. Slowly, he walked to it and sat. He didn't really care how he looked like right there.

He knew he looked like crap but the world could just screw him. He didn't care.

Heat felt his chest tightening, preventing him from breathing, as he recalled her words.

"_I never want to see you again…" _

Feeling his resolve and his strength completely leave his body, he leaned forward, his eyes on his palms with his elbows on his knees, his tears cascading down his cheeks…

'It hurts so fucking much!' he shouted internally.

"Sera…Why…?" he asked painfully, desperately.

xxxxx

Argilla combed her hair, smoothing it carefully. Well, this was the last night she would be spending on her warm bed for the next week.

She frowned; Serph could be such a meanie…

But that wasn't what really bothered her…

What got her were the charges that he brought against them; not the first one either. It was the second act of misconduct that really got her.

"He had seen me and Heat…kiss…" she choked painfully.

She slammed her palm on her vanity table as she growled angrily. It was a moment of weakness. He wasn't supposed to see that!

She groaned; it was an accident…

It wasn't supposed to happen!

She set her head down on the table, banging it slightly on the wooden surface. Suddenly, a soft knock on her door aroused her senses.

She looked at her watch; it was nearly 2100 hours. Well, whoever it was, he or she needed to make this quick. She and Heat had an early start tomorrow and she really didn't want to get any more demerits from Serph.

She stood and walked over to her bed where her robe lay carelessly. She put it on herself and frowned as the person behind her door began to knock loudly, impatient.

Argilla narrowed her eyes as she herself was becoming impatient, "Just a sec damn it!" she yelled. The knocking did not cease and became all the more incessant.

She cursed as she dashed towards the door; whoever this person was, he wasn't going to stop until either she opened the door or woke the entire barrack.

Argilla opened her door and gasped as she beheld the person behind her door.

"What are you doing here?" she asked; her eyes wide with surprise.

xxxxx


	6. Mixed Feelings

**A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1. **

**WARNING: OOC, LANGUAGE, SUGGESTIVE NARRATIVE**

**Chapter 6: Mixed Feelings**

Argilla narrowed her eyes, replacing the once bewildered look on her face as she stared him in the face, "Heat. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at your room, you know, preparing tomorrow's mission, maybe?" she asked sarcastically.

Heat leaned in and gave her a goofy grin, "I'm all done…ma'am…" he said.

Argilla immediately leaned back as his breath tickled her face, "Ew…! You reek! Are you drunk?!"

His goofy grin widened, "Maybe…"

Argilla growled; this was the reason why they were punished in the first place! If Serph or the MP finds out about this little fiasco, they'd be in deeper trouble. Wanting to avert such a crisis, Argilla poked her head out of her room and looked from left to right in the hallway.

No.

It was clear.

That was good. Looking back at Heat, who, by now had decided to lean on the threshold of the doorframe, she gave him her most disapproving expression, "You jerk! Come on! If anyone sees you, it's more crap for us!" she hissed.

She yanked him firmly and he let her. He stumbled onwards, towards her as his legs refused to cooperate.

He collided with her and clung onto her for dear life. Argilla growled as she staggered to regain her balance, now supporting not just her own body, but his as well.

She dragged him across her room and over her bed where she dropped him like a rock. She then backed away and crossed her arms, "Well?"

Heat, who was lying on his back, looked up at her curiously, "Well what?"

Argilla rolled her eyes, "Care to explain why you had yourself drunk?"

Argilla clutched her heart as she found herself startled as she saw Heat sit up, as fast as lightning. It was definitely the last thing she had expected from a drunken man…

"Well…uh…I dunno…I just felt like it maybe?" he slurred, his eyes not focusing.

Argilla sighed, no longer angry but just curious. Heat did this because of something…She knew it. He wouldn't do something like this without a heavy reason…

And if she could guess, she would say that it was about Sera. She walked over to where he sat and there, took his hand in hers, looking gently within his eyes, "Is this about…Sera, Heat?" she asked gently.

At hearing her mention the name Sera, Heat's goofy grin disappeared and he looked at her with dead eyes. He said nothing. But Argilla knew that she was right; his dead and dull red eyes lied not.

"Tell me what happened…" she coaxed him.

Heat suddenly sneered, taking her by complete surprise, "Why? So you could tell your _precious_ Serph?!" he drawled.

Argilla frowned, "No. I would never…I told you; whatever you and I talk about won't reach Serph. Ever."

He said nothing and turned away, his eyebrows knitted together.

"Heat…please…let me help you…" she said gently, touching his face.

Immediately Heat looked at her as if she were the Second Coming of Jesus and spoke hastily, "Really? You would…?" His red eyes suddenly narrowed into slits, "Why?" he asked, suspicious.

Argilla sighed and nodded, "Because you are my comrade…I would do anything to help you."

"Anything…?" he asked, unconvinced.

She nodded without hesitation, "Yes. Anything. That's because I know that you would do the same for me…"

Heat looked at her for but a moment when he suddenly lunged himself at her, taking her off guard, tackling her on her own bed, kissing her hungrily. Argilla's eyes widened and she immediately struggled beneath him, shouting within his mouth.

But seeing as his mouth plundered hers without hesitation or consideration, she was unable to speak any word.

Her hands flew to his chest and pushed him away…but he held onto her tightly, trapping her in between his body and her bed.

Argilla felt as if she wanted to vomit as she tasted the bitterness of alcohol within her own mouth as he continued to kiss her roughly. Growling, she screamed within his mouth and then proceeded to bite his tongue as hard as she could.

He immediately withdrew and sat on her, giving her an innocent look, "Why did you do that? It hurt…" he whined like a child.

Argilla was shocked; she had never seen or heard Heat speak this way…Heat was usually gruff and tough…But the person that straddled her was like a completely different person. This Heat sounded like a child and acted like one.

"Because you're being such an asshole!" she hissed, "Now get off me!"

Suddenly, the innocence within Heat's eyes evaporated and there the look of total displeasure was born, "What? Are you saying that you lied to me? Is that it?"

Argilla was even more confused, "Lied? I didn't lie!" she yelled, just as angry.

Heat gritted his teeth as he loomed over her, "You told me…that you would help me…"

"And I would!" she replied, hissing, her eyes piercing his.

His hands suddenly grabbed her wrists and pinned them on either side of her face, "Then why did you stop me…?"

"What?"

Heat growled, "I want you Argilla…" he whispered seductively.

Argilla's mind spun; did he just say what she thought he said?

"Heat…you're drunk. You don't want me…!" she said, laughing nervously.

Of course he didn't; he was drunk! That was the sole reason why drunken people weren't allowed to serve at duty; they weren't allowed to drive or pilot helicopters or jets! Because they weren't in the correct and stable state of mind!

Heat shook his head, "You don't understand…"

Argilla raised an eyebrow; it was she who didn't understand? Heat really had issues, didn't he?

"What don't I understand?!" she said in anger underneath her breath.

"I _do_ want you…Argilla…" he said, pleadingly, "I've wanted you for months…Please…" he said, his eyes begging her to reconsider.

The word 'shocked' was an understatement for the emotion that Argilla felt at that moment as he uttered his words. Heat wanted her…? For that long a time? She gulped; she thought that it was just a game!

No…He was just drunk; he was just saying that to get her to jump into bed with him.

'You already are in bed with him stupid!' a voice within her mind popped in unceremoniously.

'You're not helping…!'

"I want you…I want you…" he repeated over and over again, as he closed his eyes, shaking his head.

At that moment, all the feelings of anger once again retreated from her mind and heart. Was he really serious? Well, it mattered not. What mattered to Argilla was that because Heat was carrying too big a burden that even he had not been able to control or to handle, he had come to her, seeking aid…

He had come to her and was prepared to take the step that would forever change their friendship for the sake of momentary bliss…All for the promise of a temporary relief that her arms could provide…

At one end, she should be angry that Heat would use her to make himself feel better for but a few hours. But that wasn't the way in which she saw the entire thing…

She felt no anger towards him…

Just plain pity.

She pitied him that he had to sink so low as to propose to her to comfort him that night in such a vulgar fashion…How far had he fallen…?

But the most important question…was why.

Why? Why did he do this?

Seeing that his concentration was lacking, she stole one of her hands from his grip and there, with all of her might, struck him on the face. He fell on her, knocked out.

Argilla sighed as she held him to her, "I'm here Heat…"

Half an hour later, Argilla sat on the floor of her room, at the corner, eyeing the sleeping man on her bed. She had taken it upon herself to change him and had gotten him to take a comfortable position so that he may not fall off her mattress.

She wanted to take him back to his room but that would be folly…The MP would find out…or worse. Serph could find out! She paled as she imagined it.

But…who was to say that Serph didn't already know…? After all, he had seen Heat and she kiss, hadn't he? She didn't even have the slightest clue that he had been there…

Maybe he was watching now.

'Nonsense. Serph isn't that creepy…Ew…That would be…stalker-creepy!' she told herself, shivering a bit.

Her thoughts refocused on Heat as she heard him lightly moan. She blinked and blushed. Did he really mean what he said back there? Was that the reason why he kissed her…?

Suddenly, she yawned. It was still early, but she had an early mission the next day. She needed all the rest she could get.

She looked from left to right. She sweat-dropped; right. Where was she going to sleep? She grumbled; the chair would be too uncomfortable…The floor would be inhospitable and would give her back bruises.

'I bruise easily.' she mentally defended as she previously thought of how soldiers were supposed to brave harsh living conditions.

But still, she really didn't have much of a choice…Although there was plenty of room beside Heat, she would never even think of joining him within the bed. That would be inappropriate.

No. For him, she'd brave the floor.

'It looks like I'll have to be comfortable with just a futon.'

xxxxx

Heat awoke groggily; his mind slightly spinning, "Where…where am I?" he asked; disoriented.

He forced his eyes to focus as he surveyed the area, "This…this isn't my room…"

"Nope. It's mine." a female voice said.

Heat turned to the direction of the voice and there he saw Argilla, already ready, "Hey…you okay? Here, I brought you these…"

Heat suddenly realized that there was a painful sensation on the left side of his face. He touched it and he hissed; there was a bruise on it most likely. Argilla sweat-dropped as she saw him wince in pain but nonetheless, kept quiet.

She wasn't going to tell him anything that had transpired the previous night. Nope. Not if she could help it. Chances were, he had already forgotten all about it. And probably, her punch had helped too.

Heat looked at her with a puzzled expression, "Why the hell does my face hurt?" he asked, annoyed.

"You don't remember?" Argilla asked, feigning astonishment.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

She grinned evilly within, "You slipped and hit your face on my vanity table." she told him nonchalantly.

"Oh…" was all that he managed to say. He then eyed the package that Argilla had given him.

"What're these?" Heat asked; not really caring for the moment about why he was there and how he came to be there. All that he cared about was the throbbing headache that he had and the pain on his face.

"Ration and painkillers. Hurry up and get ready; we leave in an hour." she told him firmly.

Heat held the small package within his hands and stared at it numbly; what were these things again? Argilla, who seemed to have read his mind repeated what she had said and spoke still, "You look like a wreck. The shower's in the back. I'll get you your uniform from your room. Don't even think of leaving. If the others saw you walking around looking like some sort of a zombie from some cheesy cheap movie, we'd be in deeper shit. Kapish?"

Okay.

That, he understood. So, he nodded. He wanted to talk but just trying to do so, hurt his head.

"Come on, I'll guide you to the bathroom." she said, offering her hand.

He took her hand and there, felt himself be pulled up and be dragged into the bathroom. A moment later, he was alone. He sighed as he splashed warm water on his face. He then groaned; what happened last night?

He couldn't really remember…

All that he could remember was going to see Sera…

And then…

A blank.

He suddenly stiffened as he gargled her mouthwash. He had awakened in her room…almost totally naked…without recollection of the night's events…

"Oh my fucking God…" he said, as he spat out the mouthwash.

He didn't…

Did he?

No…Of course not. He hadn't slept with her…had he?

xxxxx

Argilla returned to her room and there, knocked at the bathroom, "Heat! I brought you your uniform! Hurry up!"

"Just leave it there by the door! Thanks man!" he yelled back from within the lavatory.

'Thanks man?' she repeated mentally. She then shrugged her shoulders; well it was good. He still remembered nothing from the previous night. She blushed at that thought. For if he did, she was sure that he would act all awkward on her today.

Unless he was an extremely good actor. She laughed at that; that was very unlikely. People like Heat…they were frank and not pretentious. He was the sort that when he would want something, he'd take it and if he didn't want something, he'd say it.

No.

She was confident that Heat didn't remember. Well, all the better for her.

"Okay!" she called back, "I'll be outside!"

She left the room promptly and stepped outside when she was met with Serph's face, "Serph! Er…what are you doing here?" she asked shakily.

Serph arched an eyebrow, noting the change in her demeanor, "Nothing…I just thought that I'd take you to get breakfast with the group."

"What group?" Argilla asked nervously.

Serph made a face, "Our group. You know- the group that you, me, Gale, Cielo and Heat comprised of?"

"Heat…?" she asked, her voice becoming a squeak.

Serph nodded slowly, "Uh…yes. Heat."

"Why?"

Serph blinked, "What do you mean 'why'? We always have breakfast; every day."

Argilla's mind raced as she recalled; right. They always did have breakfast together. Damn. How could she have actually forgotten that?!

"But…but…Heat and I are to leave in less than an hour!" she told him. Yes! It was a nice excuse! That way, he won't be looking for Heat. That was, if he hadn't already. She gulped at that thought.

Serph laughed, "I know that. But seeing that today would be the last time you would see the team for the entire week, I reckon that you'd like to spend the remaining time with them…Come on, I'll take you to the mess hall." he said cheerfully; his arm open for her to take.

She felt lousy but she had no choice; besides, Heat would be fine.

"Is your shower still running?" Serph's voice suddenly interrupted her.

"Eh?" Argilla asked; disoriented.

Serph lightly scratched his head; was she alright? She had been acting kind of funny for the last few minutes. He raised an eyebrow as his ears perked up, hearing the distant trickling of water nearby.

"The shower. It's still running. I can hear the water." he told her with serious eyes.

'Heat! You jerk!' she mentally spat.

She laughed, "Oh! I forgot about that…hehehehehhe…Well…I'll just turn it off and…"

Suddenly, it stopped.

Serph crossed his arms and looked at her with piercing eyes, "It stopped."

She blinked, "I…I uh…guess so. So I think we should just go…" she told him quickly, grabbing his arm.

Serph didn't move from his spot, "Is there someone else in your room?" he asked her, his silver eyes steely and calm…Too calm.

Like the calm before the storm.

"What?! Of course not!" she yelled; indignant at him for even suggesting such a thing.

Or, at least, it was what she wanted to portray. He made a face, "Then…?"

Argilla mirrored his face and drawled, "Bad pipes. I told you I've been having bad pipes lately but you always seem to forget!"

He sweat-dropped; well, now that she mentioned it, she had spoken to him once or twice that she had been having bad pipes…And now, she was giving him the earful…

"…so don't you dare tell me that I'm hiding someone here because you and I both know that I would never, ever do such a vulgar and suggestive thing!" she finished with a yell. She breathed in and out heavily, her face beet red.

Who wouldn't be? She had been talking for the last three minutes straight and not to mention that she was 'mad'…

"Okay. I'm sorry." he said sheepishly.

"Good." she chirped cheerfully, "Come on. Let's go. Heat and I have only three quarters of an hour left."

"Wait…I ought to check it. It might burst altogether and well…it'll flood your room…" he said, shaking her off him and walking towards the door.

Argilla panicked; she proceeded to zip right in front of him and blocked his path, her hands on the opposite sides of the doorframe.

"What are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Argilla blinked, "Ah…really…There's no need to bother. I'll be late…!" she whined. Serph looked at her suspiciously, unconvinced. Seeing the doubt play within his eyes, she threw on her wounded puppy routine, "I'll be hungry on the way to the bunker…"

Okay; there, she had a point. He wouldn't want her to be tired and hungry during the ride. Feeling abnormally soft towards her again, he yielded his claim on entering and inspecting her room.

He nodded, "Alright."

Argilla gave herself a mental pat in the back; 'That was a close one.'

"But, I'll send someone to check your pipes alright?" he told her.

She nodded; what he did with her room during her absence, she didn't care. As long as Heat wasn't there, and he wouldn't be by that time, she didn't care.

Suddenly, a thought popped within her head, "Oh wait! I forgot something. Wait here."

Before he could respond, she had already disappeared within her room with her doors sliding shut.

Argilla looked at the bathroom door and found his clothes gone. Good; he had changed then. A moment later, he emerged from the bathroom, totally clean and fresh.

'Yummy…' she told herself.

'Ack! I did _not_ just think that!'

"Hey…you alright?" Heat's voice asked.

Argilla immediately put an index finger vertically on her lips, signaling for him to be quiet. He mouthed the word 'why' and she mouthed the name 'Serph' and pointed to the door. He nodded. She walked up to him and whispered, "Meet us at the mess hall. But eat a portion of the ration first and then take the pain killers. Got it?!"

He took a step back and nodded.

She then walked out of the room, "Okay, let's go."

Serph quirked an eyebrow, "I thought you forgot something."

Argilla smiled, "Nah. I just thought that maybe one of my buns was loose."

Serph chuckled, "You're an oddball."

xxxxx

Argilla shifted nervously at her chair; where was Heat? She told him didn't she? What was taking him so long?

"Are you okay Argilla?" Cielo asked.

Argilla sipped her coffee with feigned calmness, "Yeah. I'm fine."

Gale crossed his arms, "So, you and Heat had been assigned at the bunker eh?"

Cielo blinked, "Why? Dat's like…harsh…"

She stole a glance at Serph who was looking at her; she needed a distraction. She looked up and there was Heat. She immediately stood and waved at him, "Hey you! Over here!"

Well, at least he looked fine. He didn't look like some zombie…

A moment later, the group was complete, "Sorry guys. There was something I had to do." Heat muttered.

"Dat's okay mon. You haven't missed anything anyway." Cielo said cheerfully.

Gale smiled, "Yes. Argilla was just going to tell us why you two had been assigned there in the first place."

Argilla almost choked on her coffee when she was met with Gale's green eyes, "Don't think that you had eluded me that easily…"

Serph chuckled and Argilla glared at him, "Wanna know why?" she asked Gale, while still having her sights set on Serph, "Ask Serph."

Heat just laughed under his breath as he drank his coffee. He sighed though; there was nothing like black coffee early in the morning to sober him up. Well, at least the painkillers worked and there wasn't even a slight throbbing within his head and it eased the stinging pain on his face. He had been right though; he looked at his face in Argilla's bathroom, and there, on his jaw lay a fresh pink mark; a bruise.

He had really been a klutz the previous night, hadn't he? Oh well, but still, it didn't hurt that much now.

He focused again on the group's idle banter and there, he looked at Argilla. Her face was blushing like crazy…her pink lips were moving, speaking…No…knowing her, she'd be yelling…But he didn't seem to hear…or he didn't seem to care. All that he noticed was _her_…

Her pink eyes were ablaze as she confronted Gale and Cielo's provocative questions. A small smile suddenly tugged up on Heat's lips.

'Beautiful…'

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Argilla yanked him to his feet, "Come on Heat. We gotta go."

Already?

"Whatever." he replied coldly.

Argilla blew kisses on the three seated men as she grabbed Heat by the arm, "See you ladies in a week."

"Don't you two be getting all naughty ja?" Cielo waved; wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Heat turned to look at them dryly and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Argilla who drawled, "Right back at you two when you guys go for your covert ops…" she grinned evilly, earning her shocked expressions from both Gale and Cielo.

Serph suddenly stood, "Argilla."

"Eh? What?" she asked; entranced.

"Be careful." he told her honestly.

Feeling her face beginning to burn, she turned and waved, "Yeah, yeah."

Heat rolled his eyes as she resumed her grab on him and dragged him away. That was a pathetic display of affection if he ever did see it. Serph was being protective of her again! And it wasn't even a life and death sort of kamikaze mission either!

And then, there was Argilla's reaction.

She was blushing. Apparently, their leader's simple but kind words tickled her heart. He frowned at that, 'What's so special about that guy?' he asked himself.

He really was wondering; Serph wasn't that good looking…He wasn't even that tall! Come to think of it, Serph did look girly anyway!

"Hmph." he huffed, annoyed.

They were walking across the streets when suddenly, his eyes caught sight of Sera. His heart stopped as he saw her. She was walking towards their direction; probably headed for the mess hall.

Their eyes met and immediately, his eyes left hers. He couldn't bear to look at her at the moment.

Looking at her…hurt him. And now that he had seen her again, his mind was suddenly flooded of what had transpired between them the night before. And again, he had the urge to forget about it…even if just for a little while. His mouth suddenly felt very dry and now longed for the sweet taste of alcohol.

He sighed; he and Argilla still had a mission to do. He should focus on that; it would be good for him though.

No Sera for a week.

xxxxx

Sera looked on as Heat walked further and further away; a prick of pain within her chest. Last night had been a painful memory for the both of them. But…it was for the best.

So…

'So, that was his partner.' she thought knowingly.

She suddenly smiled; that woman was practically dragging Heat away…

'He actually let her…' she chuckled.

But still, she really shouldn't be surprised…

Argilla was a member of their most elite team; she just didn't know that it was _that_ Argilla that Heat had been paired with…Sera sighed; long had she admired the pink-haired woman, 'I'll be like her one day…' she thought to herself.

She chuckled though as she remembered Heat being dragged away.

Suddenly, a thought came to her mind; Heat and that woman looked good together. She smiled at that; she wanted to spend time with him again…but first, he needed move on…And he won't be able to do that if they kept seeing each other.

She knew that she was pushing him away…Pushing someone away often did not work…But now, Sera was confident it would. She wouldn't be merely pushing him…he himself would let go. Because he would find someone else…

Sera had a pretty good idea of who it might be…

And then, all of them would look back at this and laugh.

'I'm sorry Heat…'

xxxxx

The two drove on through the muddy terrain and again, Argilla wrinkled her nose in disgust. Seeing her though, did a good thing for Heat. It provided him a momentary distraction from what he was thinking of.

"How much farther is it?" she asked, whining.

Heat rolled his eyes, "Another twenty miles."

Argilla looked at him with her eyes the size of baseballs, "That long still?"

Heat remained quiet then suddenly she spoke once more, "Ooohh! Look at that Heat! It's a rainbow!"

Heat rolled his eyes; a rainbow? That was what was so interesting?

Argilla's eyes twinkled as she saw the rainbow from a distance…atop the mountains, that she shook Heat, "Look! Look Heat! You're missing it!"

Heat growled as he fought with the steering wheel to keep the jeep steady, "Shut up woman! Do you want us to crash?!"

Argilla slumped back at her seat, "Meanie!" she said, sticking her tongue out.

Heat growled as he saw her from the corner of his eyes, "Do that one more time and I'll bite your damn tongue off!"

Argilla stiffened; she had no doubt whatsoever that he would. So, she kept herself quiet and again, endured the long and boring ride.

"Such a grouch…" she complained under her breath, "I was just making conversation…" she pouted, turning to her side, looking at the vast wasteland instead.

Heat rolled his eyes but still, he was glad. She had heeded his word and shut herself up.

'Good. Otherwise I'd shut her up personally…'

'How? By using your tongue…? Or perhaps your 'weapon'?' a voice chuckled evilly within is head.

Heat shook his head, laughing. He was practically used to the voice now. So he was attracted to her. He felt it to be all too real when he kissed her…He really didn't mean to. It just…happened.

At that moment, it just felt right…

And it didn't end there either. Since then, like children who were totally untainted by age and knowledge, they began their games. Neither she nor he saw any harm in it…That was why she kissed him during their training session and why he felt her up during their patrol duty.

They were merely gauging one another…feeling within the darkness in hopes of finding their way out. Or in their case, trying to understand what it was they were feeling.

But Heat already knew.

Yup; he did. It was simple. He was attracted to her physically…sexually.

So what?

That did not mean that he would just hump her.

'Besides, she wouldn't do that anyway.' he told himself knowingly and a bit…regretfully?

'But what about last night?' the voice prodded.

Heat's heart skipped a beat.

That was right; there was the issue about last night. Well, he'd ask her about it some other time. Not now. 'Enough about that…'

He stole a glance at her and again, he saw her looking at the horizon with a dreamy expression on her face.

'I wonder what she's thinking about…' he thought curiously.

Seeing her face turned serious from being convivial struck a note within Heat's mind. There was something that had been bugging Heat for a long time but had never really asked her about it. Not really…

But seeing as they were both out in the open right now, alone, he supposed that he would ask her.

"How long did you say you were in the tribe?" he asked.

Argilla turned her face to look at him, "For as long as I could remember. Why?"

Heat shook his head, "No reason." he said flatly.

Argilla frowned at him and hit him on his arm, making him grit his teeth, "Hey! Watch it woman!" he half-yelled.

"Hmph!" she huffed, crossing her arms, "Well, that's what you get for being such a prat."

Heat wanted to tear his hair off at that moment. What was _wrong_ with this woman?! When he first saw her at the park, she seemed so deep…so serious. When they first met one another at the Strategy Room, she was very professional in her approach; her eyes were hard and steely, being the soldier that she was.

When they would go on their missions, she would be hard and tough…and deadly accurate with her rifle…

But now…

The woman who sat beside him was none of the things that he mentioned earlier. She possessed none of the qualities that he had just thought of.

He was confused.

Sure, when they would get free time or break from their duties, they would have a drink or two, have decent conversations…But he never saw her act in such a…childish manner.

He had known from the very start that she was a sensitive woman with regards to the conditions of the weather and the terrain. But…the way she pranced around the group that morning…

Well…

It just had him confused.

He blinked, "Prat…?"

What the hell was that?! What did that even mean?

"What the hell are you talking about woman?!" he growled, "What the hell is your problem…? You're acting more and more like a woman every god-damn day!"

That was what had been bugging him about her; her pseudo "dissociative identity disorder".

Argilla rolled her eyes, "Heat. I _am_ a woman."

Heat sneered, "That's not what I meant. What I meant is that you're acting like a prissy bitch more than usual. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Here, it was Argilla's turn to blush; he noticed eh?

Well…it was not something that she could help…Whenever people got through her defenses and exposed them the way Gale and Cielo did that morning, she tended to be very moody, splattering nonsense and blabbering gibberish in an attempt to remove the memory of the embarrassing moment from her mind…

Or to divert attention from herself.

And what was that embarrassing moment?

Cielo's sexual innuendo in front of the whole group…In front of Serph! That was what got her the most…She had to defend her chastity in front of Serph! And the fact that Serph saw her and Heat kiss didn't help her case either…

And that was just the tip of the ice berg.

How did Serph expect her to spend an entire week alone with Heat?

Sure, she trusted Heat. Of course; he was her partner after all. She had no doubt that they would be just fine…

But what got her was that…

'Heat kissed me…more than once…This is gonna get so weird for both him and me.' she thought knowingly.

That, and then, he had also confessed to wanting her…She held back a sigh that was threatening to escape her lips. That all happened just the previous night…And although she had been relatively calm about it, it did not mean that she had already forgotten about it.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

She had thought about it constantly. What did Heat mean? Was he being truthful?

But those were just superficial questions…The real questions were reserved only for herself. If he was telling the truth, what would it entail for her? Would she return his feelings? What feelings? What did she exactly feel for Heat anyway?

And what about Serph? What would it mean for her and Serph?

"Hey! You're doing it again!" he yelled, "Presence of mind soldier!"

Argilla smiled weakly…Yes. That was what they used to yell at a new cadet…Presence of mind…It was a rudimentary skill for each and every soldier.

"Nothing's wrong with me Heat." she said, gritting her teeth tighter as she blushed, "Nothing at all."

There.

That was the Argilla he knew! Well, the Argilla that he was comfortable with, anyway. She looked so serious. But still, he knew that she was thinking about Serph again. Her eyes and her pink-tinged cheeks betrayed her.

So…

He wouldn't ask further.

xxxxx

**A/N: **

**Dissociative Identity Disorder:** Multiple personality disorder.


	7. To Err is Human

**A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1. **

**WARNING: OOC, LANGUAGE, LEMON**

**Chapter 7: To Err is Human**

Argilla and Heat had just finished their first lunch within the bunker. It wasn't so bad…It was just boring.

Heat looked at her as she cleared the table, taking with her the dishes. He just sat there, unable to move. It wasn't because that their lunch had been too heavy; on the contrary.

It was just simple food really; protein and calcium-concentrated rations…

He wanted to blanch at that. Yuck.

He preferred junk-food any day. A moment later, Argilla returned to take away the other dishes. She leaned down, letting him see her cleavage, to which he turned his gaze away. It wasn't that he found it repulsive; it was far from it.

He just felt totally awkward. She may be one of the most physically attractive women that he had ever seen, but…she was his friend. She was his close friend which made her…unofficially off-limits to his sexual-manipulation powers.

It was then that a thought floated within his head. He immediately looked at her and saw her staring back at him with a curious expression, "Something wrong?"

He shook his head, "No."

"Then?" she prodded.

Heat stared at her calmly still, "We need to talk."

Argilla arched an eyebrow, "What about?"

"About last night."

Oh boy. This was going to get tricky. Argilla's heart quickened its pace but nonetheless, she forced herself to remain stoic.

"Alright. What about last night?" she asked; her pink eyes dull, her whole countenance uninterested and bored.

Heat's face hardened; how was he to say this? How was he to ask? He was never the type to be good with words…

'Bah! Just ask damn it!'

So he did. In the only way that he knew how.

"Did I have sex with you the other night?" he asked uncouthly, his eyes piercing hers intently while his face was as cold and statuesque as hers.

She wanted to burst out laughing right there. He really was unrefined wasn't he? But still he asked her a very pertinent question; laughing was not only inappropriate, but it would also be folly in her part.

"No." she calmly responded, "Is that all?"

He looked unconvinced as his eyes gazed at her skeptically, "What happened?"

Argilla sighed, "Nothing happened Heat."

Heat frowned, "I want to know how I got there."

Argilla looked at him with pure astonishment etched onto her features, "You remember nothing?"

Heat rolled his eyes and glared, "If I did, woman, would I be asking you?" he hissed.

Argilla snorted at his lack of finesse, 'That's why he'll never be like Serph!'

"You came to me totally drunk. Then, you passed out. I couldn't let you go back to your room, totally wasted. I mean, people would see us and then, we could get into more shit than this!" she sneered at him, crossing her arms.

Heat said nothing; was that all?

He forced his mind to focus and there, he saw bits and pieces of it.

"_Well…uh…I dunno…I just felt like it maybe?"_

That had been him; slurring his words. Yup. She was right; he had come to her.

But, was she sure that that was all?

"That's it?" he asked again.

Argilla rolled her eyes, "Yes that's it Heat! Damn it! What's the problem?" she sneered, "Hoping that there had been more action?"

He stood, his palms on the table, and leaned closer to her, "There could be more action now…"

He didn't know where that came from…! The words just flew out of his mouth. Now, more than ever, he felt comfortable with the knowledge of him lusting after her.

He wasn't blind to her body language either. There was a small part of her that found him attractive. That; he was sure of.

Besides, there was no harm in just playing right? They were just words anyway…

Right?

She snorted, "No thanks. You'll put me to sleep. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do not wish to shirk on my duties." she drawled.

Heat laughed and there, he watched her walk away from him, the rest of the dishes in her hands.

She was right though; they were still on duty. And then, there was Serph; he did say that he would check on Argilla and him. Being that the case, he had not better shirk off himself.

xxxxx

This was the first night that they had within the bunker…Argilla smiled; it really wasn't that horrible. The place was big enough…It had all the facilities that they would need.

All they had to do was guard the place and do maintenance work on the equipment and the stored weapons and that'll be that.

This depot wasn't generally known to be the popular one though. Because it was located several miles south of Muladhara, facing the vast desert, it wasn't the popular bunker to the cadets or to the well-seasoned soldiers either.

Over time, it became a place that one considered to be more of a punishment rather than for active duty. It wasn't popular to the other tribes either.

In their whole history, this depot had never been breached; it had never been attacked and had never caught sight of enemies.

It was just a place to fall back on when things got ugly.

But still, it wasn't so bad, in Argilla's opinion. It was quiet; no one would bug them there. It was more like a vacation really.

She snorted as she sat on the chair comfortably, crossing her legs, "I dunno what Serph was thinking…sending us to a place like this."

"He's _your_ dad. You should know better than anyone." a male voice said from behind her.

Argilla snapped her head towards his direction and glared, "He's not my dad!" she hissed, making a face.

Heat walked over to her and sat on a chair in front of her, "Well, he sure does act like it."

Argilla's nostrils flared as her pink eyes blazed, "He does not…! I…"

Heat's heart raced; he wanted to know what she was going to say next. He wanted to know what words would pass through her lips about their leader. She would most probably say that she loved him…

What he didn't expect was what she said next…

"Oh no you don't Heat. I want to know why you were drunk the other night when you barged into my room!"

That was right. That morning, Heat had come to her, asking her what had transpired between the two of them the previous night. She, of course, had been _honest_ and told him the _highlights_ of the story.

She sweat-dropped at that; well, as _honest_ as she could afford to anyway.

Besides, it wasn't just for her convenience and peace of mind that she didn't tell him everything. It was for his sake too. There were just some things that he was better off not knowing. It would make his already complicated life even more complicated if she told him.

But, going back again, Heat had not told her anything. He did not share his side of the story.

So, she figured, he owed her.

Heat smirked, "Why should I tell you?"

Argilla gritted her teeth, "Because it was _my_ room that you barged into! I have a right to know!"

Heat's smirk widened, "Sure; but it's _my_ story and I get to choose whoever I would want to tell. And right now honey, I don't think you make the cut." he told her snidely, his red eyes mocking her.

"Why you ungrateful-"

"But…" he said sharply, interrupting her profanity race, "I might tell you. For a price."

Argilla crossed her arms, "Oh no. I won't play your games."

Heat laughed, "Why? Because you got burnt the last time you did?"

Argilla's face burned as she remembered his kiss. She looked intently within his eyes and there, she saw that he was completely unbothered by that awkward event and was using her awkwardness to win.

'Well, two can play at that game!' she seethed internally.

Heat watched her eyes; she was planning something. But still, he would keep his cool. So, he leaned back on the chair and crossed his arms, waiting for her to make the first move.

He watched her with half lidded eyes as she rose from the chair, her eyes never meeting his. He arched an eyebrow as she began to walk towards him.

Argilla slowly walked towards him and there, she stopped right in front of him, in between his parted legs. She regarded him coolly and saw that he was still unbothered; his red eyes silently daring her to do her worst.

Oh she was planning to do just that…

Ever so slowly, she closed the small gap in between their bodies and there, she suddenly straddled him, her creamy legs on either side on his waist, encasing him protectively…She leaned in closer to him as she rested her arms on his chest, her hands caressing his face.

Heat's blood rushed furiously within his veins as he considered their positions. She was trying to seduce him. His head felt lightheaded as she gazed at him deeply, her pink eyes hypnotizing him.

She leaned in closer to him bringing their faces so achingly close…yet not close enough…

He could feel her minty breath tickle his face but he did nothing; his hands remained by his sides, never touching her skin…For if they did…for if they had a touch of her smooth skin…he feared that he wouldn't be able to stop…

She looked at him seductively…and then, she slowly leaned in, closer…ever so slowly, letting her lips hover just above his own…She could feel him twitch in excitement beneath her and she grinned evilly.

'Men are all the same…They're after only one thing…' she thought with utter most condescendence.

She parted her lips, letting her breath touch his already parted lips.

"Heat…" she breathed out, whispering.

A moment later…she leaned even closer…and there, their lips met. Cupping his face in her hands, she kissed him passionately, her tongue gently, yet firmly dancing with his. His lips suckled on hers as his teeth bit her…

She moaned and there, his hands flew to her petite waist…

At that moment…no thoughts of Sera or Serph invaded their minds and hearts…

Heat's hands meandered all over her back…

'Argilla…' he said over and over again within his mind, finally succumbing to his feeling of lust for his comrade…

She tilted her face to the side, as she sucked in what little air she could from their almost nil distance. Argilla could feel herself losing to him as he kissed her just as passionately…She was losing to him; to his subtle seduction.

Alarm bells suddenly went off within her head; this was supposed to be a game. Nothing more. Mustering all of her strength and willpower, she dislodged her lips from his, earning her a confused facial expression from him, "That wasn't fair Argilla." he whispered, grinning as he pulled her back closer to her, his hands on her rear.

Argilla blushed as she felt his hands cup her buttocks. She pulled away, pressing her palms on his chest, "Settle down boy…" she whispered seductively.

At that moment, as they looked within each other's eyes, which were filled with both desire and lust…they both knew…they both realized that their relationship wasn't merely friendship…

Oh no…

Whatever they now felt towards one another had transgressed all conventional definitions of the word "friendship". It was something else…something deeper seethed…something more elusive…

And right now, neither wanted to take the plunge in order to find out…

Grabbing his hands and prying them away from her rear, she got off of him and turned, letting her back face him.

Heat smugly grinned at her, "You owe me for that."

She chuckled and turned around, her lips tugged for a grin of her own, "I should be the one telling you that." she reasoned.

Heat raised an eyebrow and she giggled, "You owe me a bedtime story Heat…" and with that, she began to walk away from him.

He wondered where she was going when she stopped, "It's your turn to take watch. Wake me at 0400 hours."

"Will do."

xxxxx

Argilla knew full well what she had told Heat; to wake her when her time was up. She knew she should be asleep…but for some reason, she couldn't seem to doze off. Her mind ran amuck.

She had been a bit scared…back then, as she kissed him. But she did anyway because she didn't want to appear weak.

But she was dead scared.

She was scared that he wouldn't approve of her conduct and would push her away…Even if it was just a game…

But what surprised her was that not only did he allow her to kiss him…but he actually kissed her back and had insinuated that he had wanted to continue.

However, that wasn't the most frightening thing yet.

She paled as she thought of it.

She hadn't even thought of Serph the whole time…And to make matters worse, she didn't feel bad at what she had done with Heat at all. She had _wanted_ to do that with Heat. She had _wanted_ it, she had _done_ it and she had _enjoyed_ it.

And Serph?

She had forgotten all about him.

And now that she thought of him?

He didn't seem to matter.

That was what got her. He didn't seem to matter.

'What the fuck does that mean!?' she growled to herself; she loved Serph!

Didn't she?

xxxxx

Heat monitored the charts and the readings of the radar and the thermo-sensors with half concentration. Well, it really didn't take a rocket scientist to know that the results within the readings were all negative and normal.

He sighed and sat down, already getting bored.

Argilla had been gone only for almost ten whole minutes and already he missed her company. Or was it something else entirely? He mentally slapped himself as he grinned; yes…there was a part of him that was hoping that whatever erotic episode that they had just shared would've actually blossomed into the actual act of consummation.

But there was no such luck.

He chuckled; that was what he liked about Argilla.

She was very cunning when she chooses to be. She used his apparent weakness against him and exploited it, giving him a mere taste but never the entire amount.

That was why he said that she was an oxymoron.

At times, she could be totally childish, giving attention only to trivial things…

'Like that damn rainbow.' he thought, chuckling.

But at other times, she was as beautiful as she was deadly…She was as much of a child as an adult was. She was innocent yet experienced. She was ignorant yet learned…

That was what fascinated him about her.

He stiffened suddenly as he saw a flash of her smiling face within his mind. He blinked and all that time…he hadn't even thought of Sera. His face remained calm as he thought about it.

Even at that point…all that he could think of was Argilla…

He wanted to know everything about her.

But most of all, he was adamant to know what she thought of him. That, and her feelings towards him…in comparison to their silver-haired leader.

His body ached at that thought; as he remembered their leader. Yes; he was the one that kept her heart imprisoned…

Heat then wondered…Would he be able to free her from Serph?

Feeling his curiosity about his pink-haired friend and comrade grow, he had set the shutters for the bunker closed and set the alarm systems on automatic. Right now, he really couldn't care any less about Serph and his orders.

He had a different agenda from all that.

So, he stood, and walked away and started to walk towards the room where she slept…all thoughts of Sera long lost.

xxxxx

Argilla lay there, awake and more alert than ever as she felt someone enter the room. She already knew who it was. She was lying on her side, facing the wall while the intruder stood behind her, by the door.

She could feel herself beginning to heat up in anticipation.

What was he doing there?

Wasn't he supposed to be monitoring the results from the scans? Heck, wasn't he supposed to be keeping watch?

But be that as it may, she forced herself to relax and close her eyes…Maybe he would just go away. She really didn't need him at the moment. Her previous thoughts of him had thrown her emotions within the dark abyss of a vortex…

Right now…she really didn't know what to think about him; she didn't know what to feel about him either…

Heat walked over to where Argilla slept with the grace of any given feline and there, he loomed over her, watching her intently. He smirked as he saw that she wasn't asleep.

He raised an eyebrow; she wasn't asleep. She was pretending to be. Although her breathing was slow and steady, her body looked stiff…and numb.

Slowly, he sat by her bedside…She didn't know that he knew she was awake anyway…So…he grinned. He would just have to provoke her, now wouldn't he?

He slowly removed his gloves and then let his hand travel to the blanket's edge on her shoulders and slowly slipped it down. Argilla's hair stood on one end as she felt the blanket being pulled down…exposing her…

She repressed the strong urge to turn around and slap him; for if she did, he'd know that she was pretending to sleep.

Heat smirked as he saw her. She was just wearing her gray corset and her long skirt without the jacket and her shoes…

From where he sat, he saw her back and he felt a jolt of electricity pass through his like an angry gust of wind. Her skin was so soft and at that moment, he wondered what the rest of her looked like without her uniform…

Seeing the zipper of her corset in front of him, his hand ached to touch it and pull it down…He stopped to think for a moment though; would she get mad at him for doing this? Probably not…She was the one who kissed him in the first place! It wasn't his fault that he felt deprived at what she had done!

Besides, it was time that she learnt to take responsibility for her actions!

So, having his confidence bolstered, he reached her zipper and took hold of it before sliding it down, making that slow noise…He smirked again as he felt her stiffen. When he was done, he let the corset split apart revealing to him the clasp of her black bra. He could feel himself beginning to sweat…

He wondered what she would do then if he unclasped her bra.

Would she finally retaliate?

Well…there was only one way to find out.

Argilla's heart quickened its pace; what the hell was Heat doing? Why was he doing this? If he was thinking about the little game that she played with him earlier, didn't he think that stripping her was taking it a step too far?

She silently gritted her teeth as she fought with all of her willpower to stay perfectly still. She waited for him…the moment his hand touched her skin, she would definitely kill him.

'If you touch my back…! I swear I'll castrate you…!' she promised internally.

She was still giving him the chance to back away now…

Heat reached for her bra…and there, he unclasped it. He heard the snapping noise and repressed a chuckle. But he wasn't done yet…He would make sure that it was she this time who would be begging for more…

His hand made its way to her parted corset and there, as fast as lightning slipped within, traveling to her chest and gently caressed her breast. She gasped as he massaged it; damn.

She couldn't move…much less turn and kill him.

Heat chuckled again and pressed himself against her and whispered into her ear, "Stop pretending to be asleep…"

She growled and slipped her hands within her corset, to pry his hand from her chest. Heat raised an eyebrow and tightened his grip on her breast which caused her to yelp, "Heat…! Let go!!"

"Or what?" he whispered seductively.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" she yelled.

No longer being able to hold himself back, he let his lips kiss the skin of her neck. His tongue licked her smooth skin while his lips suckled on the smooth flesh…

"Oh…" she moaned, "Heat…"

He was right.

He suddenly let her go and sat up. Argilla pressed her corset to her chest as she too sat up, glaring at him, "What the hell was that for?!"

"A test."

"A test?!" she hissed, "What on earth for?!"

He looked at her seriously and cupped her face in his, "I want you…"

She swatted his hands away, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

He pulled her closer to him and leaned in, "I want you. You want me. What's the problem?"

Argilla let her blood rush to her face, "Heat…I don't _want_ you."

Heat smirked and suddenly kissed her. Argilla's eyes widened at his sudden unexpected action and tried to push him off, but was unable to as he gripped her head and her waist tightly. Now, there was no more feeling of aloofness within Heat's mind.

There was no longer any thought of regret…

This was what he wanted to do; it was true. He did want her. And she wanted him; he was just going to have to make her realize that.

His lips flicked hers persuasively, his tongue trailing itself along her lips. Soon…her resistance crumbled and she shyly and slowly parted her lips. His hand pulled her closer and tighter against him as he kissed her fully…

He explored her cavern thoroughly…taking his strokes with her slow but passionate…Soon, he found her tongue and there, coaxed her to join him in his dance; she concurred.

A moment later, he pulled back and stared at her face. Her lips were still slightly parted, her eyes still closed…

He smirked again and caressed her face. He drew his face close to hers and whispered into her ear, "See? You do want me…"

He pulled back and saw that her pink eyes were now open. A moment later, she glared at him, "It doesn't change anything Heat…"

He looked at her intently, "Of course it changes everything Argilla…"

"I need you and you need me…"

She knew what it was he was insinuating…Becoming friends with benefits…

She turned away from him, saying nothing.

Heat touched her chin and turned her face to meet his, "It could work."

She frowned at him, "Heat…you're my friend…and my comrade…"

"And you are mine…" Heat replied, his eyes piercing hers.

"So then…if we do this…then…what about our friendship? Everything that we've done together…?" she asked, scared.

He knew what she was speaking of. There was a good chance that their friendship would lose its innocence…There was even the greater risk that this chance of having a sexual relationship would even tear them apart…

No longer friends…nothing more than a cold and unfeeling pair of people using one another for sexual gratification. She didn't want that…and as sure as day, Heat didn't want that either…Oh no. Nothing could be further from the truth…

It was just that…it was the only thing that he could think of to ease his heart…He knew that his feelings for his pink-haired comrade had steadily began to change over the previous months…But it wasn't until a few days ago that he had realized that he wanted her sexually; that he was physically attracted to her.

The best part was that he realized that she felt the same thing towards him. They both wanted each other. And the way he saw it, their friendship need not be affected by what they were about to do anyway. Like their professional careers as soldiers, they needed to keep it separate from their personal lives of being friends…

Thus, by that logic, being sexual partners would merely be another slot for them to categorize within their lives. Now, should they decide to do so, they would have their career, their friendship and their sex lives separate.

That was all there was to it.

Heat pressed his forehead to hers, closing his eyes, "Nothing has to change…I promise you…"

She sighed, "I don't know Heat…This is risky…"

He pulled back and pecked her on the lips, "No it's not…Argilla, I see it in your eyes everyday. I know you want me. What's the problem? You're not with anyone…and I'm not with anyone either."

"But what about Serph and Sera?"

He growled, "This has nothing to do with them Argilla. It's just between you and me."

She shook her head as she closed her eyes; she couldn't believe what Heat was asking of her. She couldn't believe that she was actually thinking of considering it! It was so different from the way Serph had raised her…

She stiffened at that thought.

Serph…had raised her to be proper…prim…and perfect.

"But Serph-"

"When are you going to make decisions by yourself Argilla?" he asked, glaring at her, "You're a grown woman. You're no longer a child that needs a guiding hand Argilla. You're old enough; and right now, I know you want to do this with me…"

He leaned in again, "So…do it…" he said seductively, luring her within his trap.

Argilla gulped; this was it. She was standing upon a cliff…Another step forward would mean that she would fall…and when she did, there was no turning back. Heat's voice was seducing her…telling her to take the plunge…

To jump…

To discover…

To brave the unknown with him…

Seeing the indecision within her eyes, he caressed her face affectionately and she looked at him. He stared back at her, letting her see the plain unadulterated longing within his red orbs.

She blinked, blushing…

Heat smirked lightly before kissing her again…

At that moment, she kissed him back…pulling him to come to her. Heat was glad; she had made her decision. She had taken the plunge…She wanted him.

Receiving her go signal, he grabbed her face and pulled her closer to him…Soon, their gentle kiss turned into some more fierce…something more heated…

Each of them struggled for dominance, for power. They each wanted to win…Heat pushed her farther until she fell on her back. She whimpered as she hit the mattress, letting her concentration on the kiss become momentarily complacent, unwittingly giving him the keys to success…

His hand immediately went for her already pulled down corset and grabbed it, flinging it over behind him, not caring where it landed…Next, he felt for her unclasped bra and there, let his hands travel to her shoulders where the straps were.

His lips, in order to give her already bruised luscious lips a moment's rest, traveled from her lips and latched themselves onto her neck, nipping and suckling on the smooth skin urgently, like a rabid dog…

His fingers touched the straps and slid them down non-too-gently and she yelped as she felt her bra get stuck within her arms. Feeling the persistent garment get stuck and hearing his partner yelp, Heat growled and in one fluid stroke, tore it from her altogether.

He pulled back from her neck in order to look at her. He sat up and looked at her chest appreciatively, letting his eyes glaze lustfully across her feminine features…Argilla sucked in the cool air heavily as she saw him stare at her body with hungry eyes.

Blood rushed to her cheeks and she immediately crossed her arms on her chest, preventing him from looking further. He blinked and looked at her, confusion clearly seen in his face and eyes, "What's wrong…?"

She snorted, "You are what's wrong. You're staring at me…" she said within feigned anger, turning her face away.

He chuckled, "You shy?"

Well, it was an honest question. He really wanted to know. With the way Argilla kissed him, he would've said that she really did do her homework when it came to intimacy. It felt like she had experience; so, why would she be shy?

She blushed harder at hearing his question and just huffed; annoyed.

He touched her chin and made her turn back to look at him, "Hey, you don't have to be shy around me. It's just me." he said reassuringly.

She swallowed a lump within her throat but said nothing. Heat's eyes never left hers and his hands meandered over to her protective hands over her chest and slowly pried them away…Argilla stiffened and held her position.

She didn't want to expose herself to him.

Heat sighed, "Alright."

His hands left her arms. Argilla raised an eyebrow. Heat reached for his cloak and there, removed it from his body. Argilla blushed again…but still felt nothing but burning curiosity. He was going to strip himself?

She didn't want to appear as a hypocrite so she said nothing. She had never really seen a naked man before…Serph had seen to that. And well, even if what she was doing with Heat right now was going against every invisible rule that Serph had laid down for her, she found herself all the more pulled within that direction…In order to really see…

She wanted to know what he looked like without his uniform…

And right now, she couldn't care any less about Serph's rules…

Argilla's eyes widened as he stood from the bed, in front of her, completely bare.

Heat smirked, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Argilla bit her tongue, stopping herself from shouting. She had never seen him…or any other man for that matter, to be this naked…Sure, she saw bare torsos…but never completely nude bodies…like his…

Heat grinned and got on the bed again, straddling her, "So, there's no more need to be shy Argilla…" he said, letting her name roll off his tongue like velvet…

Being entranced by his eyes she let him disarm herself and a moment later, his lips were on her breast, suckling urgently…Heat could feel his manhood stiffen as she moaned and whimpered as he continued to devour her breast…

His hand traveled down south and there, he reached her skirt…Fumbling for the buttons and zippers, he soon unclothed her completely. Now; they were even.

He chuckled within his throat though; he had never imagined that his partner had a body like this…She was a goddess…She was perfect and flawless in every way. His hands now made their way towards her womanhood. She stiffened as she felt Heat's fingers by her entrance and she whimpered, "Heat…"

Heat left her breasts and returned to her neck where he suddenly bit her, his teeth on the soft skin, tearing it…causing it to bleed while his fingers immediately set work on her womanhood, plunging within her wet folds.

Argilla yelped as she simultaneously felt him bite her and insert his fingers within her…She hadn't told him…She hadn't told him yet…

But now, as her feeling of displeasure because of his long and slender fingers within her, she couldn't speak. She gritted her teeth as she felt uncomfortable.

Heat's fingers moved back and forth within her core…She was tight and wet…He pulled out of her as he felt her convulse in pleasure. She had reached her oblivion. He grinned; now she was good and ready for him…

Argilla panted; that was the most exhilarating feeling that she had thus far encountered. Not long after his fingers invaded her sacred area did she begin to feel the onset of pleasure…and then…there was only ecstasy within his arms…

She didn't even notice time fly as she suddenly found herself coming…

Heat got off her and sat right in front of her inner lips, inspecting it. Argilla raised her head and saw that he was looking within her womanhood intently, "What…what are you-?"

She threw her head back again and cried out as she felt his tongue flicking her inner lips playfully. She felt as though she was going to fall as nothing made sense; her sense of direction completely disabled. She could not distinguish from left to right, from up to down…

All she knew was the crazy feeling that she was getting as Heat continued to kiss and suckle her womanhood. She clutched the sheets around her tightly as she whimpered uncontrollably…She gritted her teeth as hard as she could as Heat's tongue stroked her clitoris teasingly…painfully…pleasurably…

She was burning up…Again, it was a race…She wanted to reach nirvana…She wanted to be free from his torture…

And then, her mind suddenly reached clarity. She stiffened and then relaxed, letting her essence flow freely out of her. Her heart raced though as she felt Heat still suckling her…

Heat chuckled as she again convulsed; he was rewarded though, again, as her essence easily flowed out of her. Not wanting to waste such nectar, his tongue and lips found themselves on her inner lips once more, sucking her nectar and swallowing it…

Heat raised his head and threw his head back as he felt her taste overwhelm him. She tasted so sweet…It was a unique taste…The one taste that was reserved only for her. As he drank her, it was the time that he could actually say that he had a taste of Argilla…

'My Argilla…' he thought blissfully.

But alas…he had not fulfilled his dream yet. He wordlessly got off her and stood. Argilla looked at him with dreamy pink eyes, "W-where are you going?" she asked, weary.

Heat grinned, "Nowhere ma'am."

She was about to ask him further when he suddenly grabbed her hips, dragged her to the edge of the bed and turned her around. She felt his weight sink on the bed and there, from behind her, he grabbed her shoulders, lifting her off the ground, "On your elbows…" he seductively said, licking her earlobe.

She did as she was told and leaned her head lower, towards the bed, supporting her weight with her elbows. Next, he grabbed her by her hips, "On your knees…"

She did as she was told; consequently, her hips pointed upwards, exposing all of her private areas to him all the more.

"Good." he said. She felt the bed lighten and realized that he got off the bed again. She blinked; where was he going this time?

Heat looked at her as he stood behind her. His manhood throbbed painfully at the sight of her…Her…on her elbows and knees, her hips thrust upwards…letting him see her firm and round rear…

He smirked.

Then, he grabbed her buttocks and without warning, he thrust within her, up to the hilt.

"Heat…!!!" she screamed as she felt him break her barrier.

Heat, lost in the tight feeling of her, could only faintly register the fact that he had torn her in two and quickly moved within her expertly.

Argilla felt a tear roll down her cheek as she felt herself bleeding; that was what she forgot to tell Heat…She hadn't any experience…

'Can't…stop now!!' he shouted within himself as he continued to thrust wildly within her…

Argilla, feeling the initial feel of pain dissipate, now met his cruel yet passionate thrusts with thrusts of her own. She didn't need experience in that…It was pure instinct…

She groaned his name over and over as they continued to dance together, molding their bodies into one…

Heat felt lightheaded; there was nothing to explain what he was feeling at that moment. Argilla…his friend…his comrade…and now, his lover…She felt so incredibly tight around him that he couldn't slow down…He wanted to keep riding her; he wanted to be buried within her for all eternity, feeling only her wet and tight core encasing his engorged member tightly…protectively…passionately…

And now, she only drove him to go faster as her cries, her moans and groans were the only things to penetrate the air around them that had long gone warm and stale…

"Argilla…Argilla…" he groaned over and over as her cries filled his ears.

Heat grabbed her hips harder and thrust within her even faster, slamming in and out of her furiously, up to the hilt as he felt his end coming nearer and nearer still. He could feel his partner nearing her end as well…

The minutes ticked painfully by and now, the inevitable had arrived. He was done for. His end had come…The traitorous friend that accompanied this bliss had arrived; it had arrived to take him over the threshold of this game and into the oblivion of paradise…

"Heat…!!!" she screamed as she reached nirvana…

"Argilla!" he grunted.

They really were a good team together Heat reckoned, as he fell on her completely as she in turn, lost her balance and lay on the bed, totally drained.

He pulled out of her slowly and lay on the bed, beside her, pulling her close. There chests collided and she looked at him wearily. He smiled at her as he removed a stray lock of pink hair from her eyes, "I told you we make a good team."

Suddenly, a thought popped in his head, "Argilla, are you alright?"

She slapped him in the face and grinned, "Isn't it a bit late to be asking me that you bastard?"

He looked at her apologetically, "I just didn't think that…"

She snorted, "That what? That it could've been my first time?"

He looked away; the way she said her words mocked him and made him feel lousy…He had been the one persuading her to be his "partner" when he wasn't the least bit considerate.

"Sorry…" he muttered.

She giggled and grabbed his face, "It's fine."

He raised an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.

She chuckled, "You were the one saying earlier how Serph acted like a father around me right?" she asked, smirking, "Then knowing that…you shouldn't really be surprised."

The more he thought about, the more it made sense. She was right; but at the same time, it still bothered him quite a bit.

Serph acted like a father to her but nonetheless, she fell in love with him…What about now? Did she still like or love him?

His stomach suddenly tied itself in a knot; what was this feeling?

Argilla saw the look of concern on Heat's face. Thinking that it was about him being inconsiderate in her part, she gently stroked his face and forced him to look at her.

"Don't worry too much about it…" she said, blushing and then proceeded to kiss him instead…

Chuckling, he returned her kiss arduously. The night was still young anyway.

And then, soon, the two had united their bodies once more, the turmoil of unrequited love, all forgotten, hidden within the darkest and deepest corners of their minds.

Argilla's body and mind refused to relinquish their control over to the realm of the subconscious as she continued to lie there, on her side, clutching the blanket tight against her nude body.

Heat had been long asleep and had his strong arms wrapped around her tiny waist, not giving her the chance to move from her position.

She sighed as she felt safe and warm within his arms…

The pleasures that she had shared with him was the most intimate that she had ever experienced…She now wondered why she had never done it before. Well, it was simple really; she had been brought up to know that this sort of intimacy should be reserved for the one she loved…

Reserved only for the man that she would be spending the rest of her life with…

She immediately felt horrible as she realized fully what she had done…No longer engulfed in the soft light of euphoria, Argilla's mind raced.

What about Serph?

It was really useless to be worrying about it and regretting it…She had already done it. She had crossed the threshold with Heat by her side…

She frowned; 'The man I would be spending the rest of my life with huh…? He doesn't even feel that way about me…Not even close…' she thought sadly.

She stiffened again; why did she just think that? Did that mean that she wanted him to feel towards her feelings other than what he already did?

She couldn't breathe all of a sudden.

Was she…dare say it, falling in love with him?

She heard him suddenly stir and she held her breath; what was he going to say?

"Sera…"

Argilla could feel her heart within her throat; he said it again…He said _her_ name, again. She frowned as an unpleasant feeling began to creep from the bowels of her soul and up to her spine…

And at that moment, she wondered…

'Did I really do the right thing?'

xxxxx


	8. Conundrum

**A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1. **

**WARNING: OOC, LANGUAGE, LEMON**

**Chapter 8: Conundrum **

Argilla awoke to find the space beside her empty. She felt disappointed for a moment but realized that she shouldn't be; after all, they weren't on leave. They weren't in Muladhara…and they weren't even together.

Stretching, she looked at the clock beside her and there, she saw that it was half past 0600 hours. She immediately sprang up.

She was scheduled to do maintenance checks on the communications towers…

She sat up and groaned as she felt sore within her nether regions.

"Stupid Heat. Couldn't be a bit gentler!" she grumbled as she forced herself to limp to the showers.

xxxxx

It was their third night within the bunker now…No; they hadn't been intimate with each other the previous two days. But she was happy though; Heat had been more lively than usual.

Maybe it was because he had recently gotten laid that gave him his boost.

She snorted at that notion.

But still…she began to notice little things about him…

And there, when she would doze off, she would find herself thinking about…the possibility of them being together.

She knew she shouldn't be doing that though. Heat had made their relationship perfectly clear. They were just friends…Friends that had sexual privileges. She had originally accepted the idea…but now…

As she continued to look at him, to gaze at him…She began to appreciate him more and more. He had been a total gentleman; he didn't even tell her one lame dirty joke.

In fact, he had been diligent at his work; he had even taken his sentry duty seriously. She raised an eyebrow though because she herself didn't. Why would she?

'Who would bother with this stupid place?' she thought, crossing her arms…

But then, again, her thoughts meandered over to Heat.

What was he thinking of now?

She pouted, 'Probably Sera…' she sighed as she paused, 'She's the only woman that bastard would look at.' she mentally spat.

She sat on her chair, monitoring the results from the last scans; as usual, every thing was normal. She sighed, 'Why do I have the worst taste in men?' she asked herself pathetically.

First, there had been Serph.

Then, there was Heat.

She felt a chill run down her spine, 'Did I just think that?'

No. There was no way she was over Serph. No way at all. She had been in love with him forever. There was no way another man could change that in just a matter of a few months…

Right?

Her insides churned and she leaned forward, her arms on her stomach. She pressed her arms tighter against her stomach, hoping to alleviate the slight pain.

"You alright?"

Argilla's eyes widened as she immediately straightened up, ignoring the pain and looked up to see the worried face of Heat, "What's up?"

"Er…nothing…I'm just tired…" she said lamely.

He raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Heat knelt down to her level and looked at her comically, "You better tell me now if there's anything wrong. That way, I could treat it. Remember what Serph said?"

What did he say?

Oh. Right.

They had to…

"That's right…" Heat grinned, "You and I have a lot to do tomorrow. We have four days to install the landmines that are stocked at the weapons storage." he finished, drawling his words mockingly.

Argilla felt cold sweat; landmines…?

Those things…were dangerous.

'No shit Sherlock.' she said to herself rolling her eyes.

Yup. Now she could see why Serph put Heat and her there. Yup. That place, since it was unpopular and least visited it was also the least fortified.

She had heard Serph the other day that should they vacate one of their bunkers, depots or caches, landmines should always be spread out within a five-mile radius.

It would serve as the first line of defense against invasions. And it would serve as a warning flare. It would slow the enemy down as the landmines would disable not only infantry but heavy vehicles as well.

Well, it was relatively easy to place…providing that they use artillery to do it. But if manually…She groaned; that was tedious and cumbersome.

Argilla could only wonder how many landmines were in there…

She looked at Heat who was grinning at her and made a face, "I'm fine really. Just tired."

Heat chuckled, "I still don't get how you could be tired. You hardly did anything. I did most of the work today."

She sweat-dropped; that was true though. He did most of the work. She suddenly stood up, "It's your turn to keep watch. I'm turning in." And with that, she walked away.

Heat made a face, "What the fuck is her problem?"

xxxxx

Argilla heard that…

She heard what he said.

'What's my problem?!' she internally snarled, 'If you asked me that in my face…I'd…I'd-'

'You'd what? Tell him you've fallen for him? That you want to make this relationship into something more…meaningful rather than just casual sex?'

Argilla's heart felt heavy; it was so heavy it felt as if there was a force pulling her down…Her hand went to her heart. She looked at the floor sadly.

"I can't stay here…" she told herself.

She shook her head as she closed her eyes, "I can't stay here with him…"

Her thoughts of self-pity were interrupted as she heard a knock on her door. She straightened up and arranged her hair as much as she could and spoke calmly, "Enter."

Heat came to her with a stoic face and sat beside her. Argilla arched an eyebrow, "What is it? What's going on?"

Heat looked at her seriously, "What the hell is up with you? You've been acting strange lately."

'No…You think?' she thought; irritated.

"Nah. I'm fine. It's just your imagination." she lied.

Heat narrowed his eyes at her, "I know that you're lying. It's so obvious." He suddenly stood up and Argilla's heart skipped a beat in nervousness. Where was he going?

"It's so obvious that whatever your problem is, you don't want to tell me. Well, it's fine. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. All I'm saying is that, nothing has changed between us. I'm here should you need me."

And with that, he was gone.

xxxxx

Heat had been turning a blind eye to her irritating behavior for the last few days, but now, as he saw her having that pained expression on her face, he knew that he could ignore it no longer.

That was why he spoke to her about it.

But obviously, she didn't want to speak to him about it. He frowned; was it because of what they had done? Was it because that they now began a sexual relationship that she felt inclined to treat him differently?

Perhaps…more as how a woman would treat a man?

He frowned; he didn't want that…He was fine with what they had…There was nothing that would tie them together formally that would make their lives complicated. That was what he liked about her.

Sex was just something else…She really didn't need to make it complicated. He thought that he already explained it to her. Nothing had to change between them just because they decided to be intimate with each other.

'What's the big deal anyway?' he asked himself.

She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

So there. Problem solved.

'And Sera…?' his inner self asked.

'What about Sera?' he asked back.

'Where does Argilla fit in between Sera and you?'

Heat growled, 'Argilla isn't involved in my business with Sera!'

'If you say so…'

Then, the voice disappeared. Heat needed to sit down; over the last few days…he hadn't even thought of Sera. He didn't even dream of her. The last time he dreamt of her was when he first became intimate with Argilla…

But it wasn't even a romantic dream.

He just saw himself when he was a boy…back when he used to straighten Sera's clothes when she went to the academy…

His face relaxed from its strained expression as he waded in the memory…

In that dream, he felt happy…Seeing her smile that way. Sera's silver eyes twinkled and again, a smile wanted to tug at Heat's lips; but he wouldn't let it.

'She looked so cute…Like a baby…' he said to himself.

Suddenly, he realized something. It was as if he had a sudden revelation…He blinked; no…he wasn't sure yet. He couldn't…It couldn't be…

He was just missing her; that was all. It was just because of not seeing her and the fact that there was no one else within the bunker except Argilla and him…

His mind froze and his heart stopped as he thought of Argilla.

His comrade…his friend…his lover.

Was that all? Really…? Was there nothing else that he felt for her…?

"It doesn't matter what I feel. She's too in love with Serph." he told himself defiantly.

Well, there was no use in worrying about crap problems like that. He and she were there in that bunker for a reason. They had better get to it.

xxxxx

The sun had risen and the two now looked at the terrain from atop the communications tower. Heat put down his binoculars, "We should set up the perimeter…"

Argilla nodded as she too put her binoculars down, "Yes. The minefield should have a five-mile radius."

"Ouch."

She rolled her eyes; she was going to kill Serph. And she thought that this would be a vacation of sorts…She grumbled something inaudible under her breath. Heat gazed at her, smirking, "You're hating him now aren't you?"

They both knew of whom he spoke.

She growled but said nothing, "Let's get to it." she said impassively, climbing down from the tower. Heat smirked; he really loved to rile her. He followed her example and a few moments later, they found themselves on the solid ground.

Argilla looked at him, "I'll plant the AT mines via artillery." She then grinned at him evilly, "While you will place the AP mines…manually."

Heat's face fell, "What?! Why?!"

Argilla knew how much of a tedious task it was to lay mines manually. But it was the only way to put AP mines. They had to be invisible to the enemy.

The mines that she would be laying, the AT or anti-tank mines, would be done via artillery. So, if the enemy would scan the area and find the AT mines and attempt to remove them, she grinned, they would have themselves blown up due to the AP or anti-personnel mines.

That was why…

"I'll scatter the AT mines first. Then when I give the signal, you go ahead. I'll leave ASAP. While I'm gone, you stay and monitor transmissions."

Heat made a face, "Yes ma'am."

She chuckled, "Come on Heat. It won't be that bad."

He snorted, "Whatever."

It was a good plan though. They had to make sure that the AT and AP mines overlap each other. Heat wouldn't have the risk of triggering the AT mines since the AT mines required a greater amount of pressure to be triggered.

Argilla nodded and began to walk away when Heat mumbled under his breath, "Bitch."

"I heard that." she called out to him as she stopped.

Heat raised an eyebrow as she grinned at him, "I will need payback for that." she said, "And I might collect…tonight." she winked suggestively.

And with that, she was gone.

Heat grinned; finally, she was relaxing more.

xxxxx

It was midday; Argilla had been at work for more than six hours now…

'She should be back by now.' he told himself.

Suddenly he heard an incoming transmission. It was from her.

"_Heat, I'm done with the AT mines! You're up!"_ she said.

"What's your ETA?"

"_ETA in fifteen."_

"Roger that."

"_Roger. Out."_

A quarter of an hour. Well, he had best get ready.

xxxxx

Heat concentrated as hard as he could as he carefully dug the earth to place the AP mines. He grinned, "These little babies would blow those scumbags to kingdom come!" he cackled.

And so, that was how it went for hours…under the harsh sun…

'That bitch owes me for this…' he thought angrily.

He frowned as he wiped off the sweat from his forehead.

'Don't worry though; she'd be rewarding you tonight anyway…'

His ears perked up at that; oh yes…She did promise that she would…right?

xxxxx

Argilla had just cleared the dishes from their dinner and now stood right by the sink. They had secured the northern quadrant. Now there were only the four other directions to complete the five-mile radius of the landmines.

'Then, after that crap, we're home-free.' she thought.

"Hey," a voice said near her ears, startling her. She froze as she felt him embrace her from behind, "your orders wore me out today you know…?" he said seductively.

Argilla closed her eyes and leaned back to his touch…Soon a pair of lips attached themselves on her neck and her hand flew back to his face, caressing it.

"Heat…" she moaned as he suckled her neck.

Suddenly, she froze. He stopped, "What's wrong?"

She pried his arms from her and turned around, "Man! I forgot something from the tower!"

"What? What did you forget?"

She shook her head, "Forget it. I can retrieve it." She brushed passed him but he grabbed her hand, "It can wait."

She snatched her hand back and walked away, "No it can't!"

He grinned after her, 'Have it your way then.'

Argilla walked with her flashlight towards the tower. It was the communications tower that she and Heat had been on in the morning. She had forgotten something up there; it was her personal belonging.

She made her way up the ladder and a few moments later, she was atop the concrete tower. She huffed and breathed out the cool air; it was quite chilly…but it wasn't cold.

"Nice night."

"Ack! Heat!" she yelled, startled, "Stop doing that!"

He grinned at her, "You were taking so long; I had to make sure that you didn't get lost. Who knows; maybe you had gone into the minefields and had set off the trigger for the AP mines."

She rolled her eyes, "Shut up." she said, turning her back, crossing her arms, "Besides, I wasn't gone that long! I haven't been gone for more than ten minutes!" she said, irritated.

Heat chuckled and stepped closer to her, grabbing her waist and pulling her to him, "It seemed longer than that to me…" he trailed off.

"Hey!" she yelled in protest.

He whispered into her ear, "Where were we?"

She suddenly grinned and turned to him, "Right about…here…" she whispered back, leaning towards him. A moment later, their lips met in a gentle chaste kiss. Heat growled against her as he urged her to kiss him deeper…more passionate. He grabbed her face and pried her lips apart with his nimble tongue.

Again…the rest of the word mattered not. All was where he wanted it to be…There…with her…everything was just how it was supposed to be.

'It feels so right…' he told himself as he continued to kiss her passionately…

'Heat…' she thought; her body heating up as he pressed himself tighter against her…

Then, he tugged at her body to kneel…and kneel she did, following his example…He then proceeded to lay her on the concrete platform of the tower and there, he straddled her without breaking their kiss.

His hands went to her hair…and removed the pins, releasing her silky pink locks from their positions…His lips finally left hers and there he looked at her intently. Argilla raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Entranced by the way she looked with her hair loose…by the way her hair framed her face…his lips betrayed what he had been hiding for so long…

"You're beautiful…"

Argilla blushed; was he feeling alright? What was wrong? It wasn't everyday that she'd get to hear Heat sputtering words like "beautiful". In her eyes and ears, it was something "wrong".

She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off as he silenced her with another searing kiss…

Soon, his hands traveled to her uniform and slowly peeled it from her body. Argilla raised her body in order to aid him…Then…she was bare against him…She shivered from the chilly air and he chuckled and left her lips, "Still not used to harsh conditions ma'am?" he taunted her.

She snorted, "That's big talk coming from a person who's still in his uniform."

Heat grinned as he slowly unclothed himself right in front of her…

Argilla felt a big lump in her throat…as he showed to her his all.

They were on the same stage once more…She was once more plagued with the same question…To take the plunge with him or not. As she looked within his eyes and saw the want, need and desperation within…her answer had been revealed.

She pulled him down for a kiss…

Heat felt for her chest and there, massaged her plump breasts, earning him a moan from her. Traveling downwards, his hands felt for her knees and then parted her legs wide apart. Breaking their kiss momentarily, he nestled himself in between her legs.

He then hooked each of her legs on his elbows while he stared at her.

Argilla's heart raced as she stared at him back; his eyes were foggy with want and lust…It was so obvious…It was so apparent that it was practically glaring at her in the face.

She nodded at him and he pushed his way inside of her, bending her body as he pushed forward, her hooked legs moving with accordance to his arms…

She let the pleasure glaze over her countenance…her consciousness…her soul as he continued to move frantically within her. There came a strong flame that was ignited within her very body, heart and soul as Heat and she became one…

And now, as they rocked their heated and sweaty bodies together, that flame seared stronger…It burned even wilder…

And as they continued their wild dance of passion and lust…Argilla and Heat never left the other's eyes…No…they wanted to know what the other thought of them…They wanted the other to know that it was with them that they were making love with…

And not someone else…

At that moment, Argilla's thoughts were only of Heat…

So, parting her lips, she wanted to let him know it…

"Heat…! Heat…! Oh God!! Heat…!" she moaned, painfully…pleasurably…as he buried himself within her up to the hilt, never sparing a moment of pleasure…

Heat was happy…And to think that he had been having doubts about her…But, as he stared at her…he knew that his doubting had only been for naught…

He had come to think that perhaps it was the silver-haired leader that she thought of as they danced together. No…he was mistaken…

There wasn't a shred of evidence of Serph within her soul…No…There was only him…

Only him…

He was happy…

Even if he knew that he really didn't have the right to feel hurt should she indeed be thinking of Serph as she slept with him…But still, he felt hurt anyway at the mere assumption that she was thinking of Serph.

'Why is that…?' he thought furiously, as he dove even deeper within her tight and wet core…moving only faster and harder against her, "Argilla…Argilla…"

Argilla continued to buck her hips to meet his thrusts…She panted heavily as the sweat on her face trickled down and dripped onto the concrete floor…

The minutes went by and the two continued their mad dance…There wasn't anything to stop them that night…Nothing could bother them…Nothing could disturb them.

There wasn't a settlement for miles…

And so…feeling the end, Heat thrust one last time, madly, furiously, within her and spilled his hot seed within her womb…

"Argilla…!" he groaned.

Argilla gritted her teeth as she herself felt the call of bliss within her ears and she cried out, screaming her lover's name at the top of her lungs, uncaring for those who might hear, "Heat…!!!!"

There will no be no one to hear them…

That was the beauty of it…

Heat could only sigh in contentment as he heard her ear-piercing scream penetrate the chilly air, only to echo for miles away…

He collapsed on her unceremoniously and she caught him in her arms, pulling him closer. The two lay there, together…unspeaking.

Again, they had braved the unknown…But was it unknown still? Did she still not know of what she felt for this man? For the act that they had just done?

She felt a tear run down her cheek…

No. It was clear now…

It was as plain as day now…There was no longer denying it; at least, not to herself.

But what about him? What did he feel?

Heat settled his head at the crook of her neck, just inhaling her scent. He smiled a bit though…Of all the women that he had had…Argilla was the first to make him feel the way he did…

She made him feel…worthy…She made him feel…whole.

There was no missing link; there were no gaps…No.

With her, he felt just right. Everything about her made him feel special…The whole of her fit him perfectly…Her hands were made for his to hold…Her lips were made for him to kiss…

He felt happy…

But it was then that insecurity had begun to rear its ugly head; what did _she_ feel? Did she still feel love for Serph? He frowned at the thought.

'You shouldn't judge dumbass…'

'I'm not.' he defended.

'What about you? What about Sera?'

His heart skipped a beat; he had never even kissed Sera…He loved her; he wished to protect her and see her happy…But never in his life did he feel this happy when he was with his black-haired angel.

No.

The happiness that he felt was…

'Different…' he frowned; not liking his discovery.

Argilla made him feel happy in a different way…Wait. Suddenly the whole world froze; he just realized something.

Slowly, he pulled out of her. He had to make sure. He looked at her and saw that her eyes were closed. He grinned and leaned down, nibbling on her lips.

The body against his stiffened in surprise and then relaxed. His hands again cupped her face gently, his slender fingers tracing the skin on her face lightly…as light as a feather…

Slowly, she parted her lips and granted him entry…

This time, he took his time…He wanted to get to know her cavern thoroughly…He wanted to memorize it…He wanted to know where everything was…

He wanted to know…

He kissed her slowly, tenderly…His tongue searched for hers gently…and there…he found hers…still shy. He slowly slipped his tongue to and fro within hers…

He wanted to make sure…

There…She kissed him back.

Their tongues and lips molded together; this kiss was different though…He had never kissed her in this fashion. His kisses were usually urgent and demanding…But not now…Not anymore.

And she felt it too. He knew she did…

That was what made him all the more glad.

Then…like a passing daydream, their gentle kiss ended. Heat caressed her face once more, their eyes meeting and she moaned, closing her eyes once more.

He whispered, "Argilla, look at me…" he softly said.

Argilla's soul stirred at hearing his voice; he sounded…heavenly to her ears. She didn't think that he was capable of speaking this way…

Feeling mesmerized by his voice, she slowly opened her eyes and stared at him bravely.

Heat's eyes dilated for but a moment before retuning back to its original size…He had been right…

'Why don't you just tell her?'

'I can't…'

'Why not?'

'I see it in her eyes…but I have yet to hear it from her.'

He knew he was being a coward…But he had no choice; he didn't want to be hurt again…Sera had hurt him in more ways than one. And really, even up to that point where he laid with Argilla, Heat knew that he still had to recover from Sera's blows…

Again, he stood upon a cliff.

To jump or not.

'I've jumped too many times…'

That was true. He had taken too many risks…with Sera's being the largest one. Of course, he knew how that went; it was a complete and utter failure.

She did not love him. And from the way he felt now, it looked like she never would.

And now, again, he was presented with the same question; the same risk. But right now…he wouldn't take it. He couldn't afford another failure. No.

'If she refuses me…I don't know what I'll do…' he thought sadly.

"Heat…?"

He snapped out of his daze, "What?"

She smiled; was he really still playing innocent? She saw the look he had in his eyes. She was happy; why? She was happy because she saw only happiness within his eyes. _She_ made him happy. Not Sera or anyone else…It was she who had made him happy…

In her eyes, _she_ had a chance…_They_ had a chance…

"What's wrong?" she asked, worried. She wanted to know what he was going to say…She felt it at that moment as they kissed; she felt an instant connection…deeper and clearer than she had ever felt for before…for anyone…even for Serph.

"Nothing." he said abruptly, sitting up and putting on his clothes.

Argilla blinked several times; what had just happened? Why was he acting that way? She looked at him and saw him glaring at the concrete floor as he hurriedly dressed himself. At that moment, she could feel her world crumble…

'Maybe I was wrong…' she laughed bitterly, 'I shouldn't even have expected the least bit of anything from him!'

She was hurt needless to say.

Suddenly, he looked at her intently and her heart skipped a beat; there was hope yet!

"You better hurry up. I'll check the status reports."

Heat wasn't being an asshole to her though. That was just something that he needed to do. There was no way in hell that he would make the same mistake twice. He wouldn't be another woman's fool.

No. Never again.

And without another word, he left her alone on the tower; bare, cold…and crushed.

Argilla felt another tear roll down her cheek…So she was just imagining things…She shook her head regretfully.

'You know, you're getting the worst end of this deal.'

'…'

'He's getting off of you and you're just worshipping the ground he walks on.'

'…'

'He's just using you. He doesn't love you. Not by a long shot.'

'…' Argilla then stood up and dressed herself, "What's new?" she asked herself as another tear rolled down her cheek, "Every man that I've…wanted didn't want me. I shouldn't really be surprised anymore…"

xxxxx


	9. Liberation

**A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1. **

**WARNING: OOC, LANGUAGE, SUGGESTIVE NARRATIVE**

**Chapter 9: Liberation **

The four long days had finally passed. They had successfully done their duty and had finished the preparation of the landmines. They were glad; it was a tedious task…Most especially because they were severely lacking manpower…

Three long and painful nights had passed. Yes. It was painful…for the both of them. When the sun was up, there were no problems. They had their duties to attend to; they had roles that they must act upon. They had responsibilities.

But when the sun would set, that was when the confusion, the bewilderment and the doubts would start to sink in…

They no longer had any excuse…There were no masks to hide behind…When the sun would set, when they would find themselves only in the company of each other with nothing to do and nowhere to go, they would find it the most awkward of places to be.

Argilla had been quiet throughout dinner; she had been like this for the last few days…He sighed; he wanted to talk to her.

He himself was beginning to feel disturbed by her behavior.

There was a time that he would feel lively and just crack a lame joke to which she wouldn't even respond.

He froze.

He suddenly realized something.

'It's just like that time I found her at the park…'

Yes. It was definitely like that. When they were on the minefields during the morning, she was alert and serious; her face hardened and her eyes sharp and steely.

But now…he would see her…vulnerable, weak…and absentminded.

He gritted his teeth; he couldn't take it anymore. He looked for her and saw that she was just emerging from the kitchen. He glared at her direction. She met his glare coolly and then just shrugged her shoulders and turned away, "I'm turning in." she said impassively.

He frowned; she wouldn't get away from him that easily. He marched towards her and there, grabbed her arm tightly, "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he half-yelled.

She glared at him and snatched her arm back, "Let go you bastard!" she spat.

He grabbed her again, this time with both hands and slammed her on the wall, making her listen to him, "No! You've been acting stupid for the last four days! I want to know what has gotten in to you!"

She met his gaze steadily, "Why? What's it to you?" she asked, sneering.

"What's it to-" he laughed, "What the hell do you mean?!" he growled; his mirthless laugh long gone.

"I meant just what I said. Now, I don't really hear you answering my question, so, if you know what's better for you, you'd let go…soldier."

He stiffened; she had never done that to him before…

It shocked him. It shocked him…and offended him. She had never, ever, used her rank of seniority to tell him something, whether it be an order or a friendly favor…But now…

She was putting distance in between them…

His heart stopped.

Argilla sneered; typical. Seeing his frozen countenance, she immediately slipped away from him and retired for her room.

A moment later, Heat noticed that she was gone. Feeling his anger rise, he followed her and banged loudly on her door, "Let me in!" he hollered.

Argilla rolled her eyes from within, "Negative!" she yelled back, "Monitor the scanners. That's an order!"

No sooner than she said those words did he break into her room, his face as red as his hair, "No _ma'am_. Tonight, I'll be speaking as freely as I fucking want to."

Argilla gulped at seeing him; she had never seen him so angry…But nonetheless, she wasn't a helpless civilian that he could control with fear via his attitude. He seemed to be forgetting that she outranked him.

His eyes suddenly softened, "What's wrong with you…? I've…" he paused and sighed, casting his head on the floor, "Why are you acting this way Argilla? _What_ did I do now?" he asked, his voice casual, taking the blame.

Argilla turned away; still not sure what to make of his shady shifting of moods.

Heat snarled and stomped over to where she stood and grabbed her arm while his other one grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. He leaned in, his eyes softening again at seeing her drooping face, "Tell me…Please…" he whispered.

Argilla searched his eyes and there parted her lips slowly, "You said…that you were a friend…a comrade…"

Heat was confused. What did she mean? Of course he was her friend! And comrade! Was there ever a time that he had neglected his obligations to her?

"I am still those things to you Argilla…" he whispered, his red orbs piercing her pink ones, "Nothing's changed…"

Here, she glared, "You promised you wouldn't hurt me…"

Heat was surprised; hurt her? Did he hurt her? If so, when? How?

"I…When had I hurt you…?" he asked, confused.

She suddenly pushed him away from her, snatching her arm back, "It's not important."

Heat was getting angry again, "It is to me!"

Argilla didn't care though; if he was really that thick, that stupid, then she was better off not telling him anything. She needed to deal with her problems by herself in her own way. It was none of his business anyway.

She began to walk away when his low voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Don't you walk away from me! You're not going anywhere until we discuss this." he said, his voice steady, calm and dangerous.

He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly the alarm sirens had gone off. The two froze and looked at each other. A second later, both dashed out of the room.

"Damn!" Heat cursed, "What the hell is going on?"

Argilla looked at the screens and paled. She looked at Heat, "Heat! Look at this! The probes had picked up activity ten miles south of here!"

Heat marched beside her and saw that she was right. He frowned; estimating the numbers…It would be…

Argilla and Heat paled at what they saw.

"Notify HQ." Heat told her.

She nodded and sent a transmission to Serph, "HQ. Do you read me? Come in HQ. This is Omega One. Do you copy?"

"_This is HQ. Go ahead Omega One."_

Argilla's heart skipped a beat as she heard Serph's voice respond.

Heat wasn't blind to her antics though…It was as if he could really feel what it was she was feeling. She was excited…He frowned; it was Serph who she was talking to. Why wouldn't she be excited?

At that moment, he felt his worth drop.

'She really doesn't care…'

"HQ. We have picked up multiple targets. Ten miles south of these coordinates."

"_What is the status of the targets?" _

"It appears to be both artillery and infantry sir."

"_ETA."_

"They would be here within an hour."

"_Omega One. Evacuate your current position. ASAP. Return to Muladhara. What is the status of the landmines?" _

"Lock and loaded sir."

"_Detonate and evacuate! The supply depot; release the bio toxins."_

"Roger that. Out."

The transmission was cut. Heat looked at her, waiting for her to make a decision. She looked at him and nodded, "Let's go!"

The two didn't have much time. They headed for the food and supply storage and there, released the lock for the release of the nerve gas that Gale had invented.

"What the hell is that shit?" Heat asked, flabbergasted as he saw the green fumes floating within the storage facility.

Argilla busied herself for the self-destruction sequence of the weapons storage. It wouldn't be a big explosion. It would only be for that room.

"It's a biological weapon that Gale developed a year ago. It's a special type of nerve gas. You really shouldn't get involved with those things…They have really nasty effects…He had these installed in every depot especially for the food and water supply. It'll momentarily dissipate into the air and attach itself onto the food. It can penetrate even the most sanitary wrapping, so, the food in there is…"

"Deadly poisonous."

It wasn't just the food either. It was the entire installation; most of all, the water supply. It had been contaminated by the toxins as well.

"Yes. Let's go!"

Heat smirked; his team was smart.

The two made haste for their jeep. Heat hopped on the driver's seat while Argilla hopped on the frontal passenger seat. Heat immediately drove off, "You saw that Argilla. It's not an ordinary scouting party…"

Argilla shook her head, "It's not a scouting party. That was a part of an invasion; the head of an invasion army."

Heat gritted his teeth; so it had begun at last.

They, the Embryon, had won many victories the previous years. They had become one of the most powerful tribes in their continent. But alongside them, another tribe had also emerged victorious; the Brutes.

Heat narrowed his eyes; the Brutes were as large and as powerful as them. It had always been a stalemate between their tribes…

And now…

Perhaps it was time to put an end to it.

Argilla crossed her arms, "Serph put us there for a reason…" she said, her mind racing.

Heat followed her train of thought, "He knew the Brutes would penetrate our defenses from that depot…"

Argilla nodded, "The Brutes probably knew that that place wasn't guarded…And used that to their advantage…They had probably watched that depot for months…"

Heat narrowed his eyes, "Yeah…But how did Serph know that it was this time that the Brutes would attack?"

Argilla frowned; the answer to that question…

She didn't know.

"I can't say…We just have to get back to the base…"

That was their main concern right now. It didn't matter if they blew up the Brutes' tanks, trucks or jeeps…The siege itself wasn't the main concern. They needed to get to Serph. He was the one the Brutes were after.

Argilla gritted her teeth.

"Hurry Heat!"

"I know damn it!" he growled.

Her heart raced as the seconds ticked by…

'I need to get home…!!' she mentally screamed, 'Serph…! Without us there…he would be unprotected!' she choked.

Serph needed her…She needed to be with him! Now, more than ever! He had protected her all her life…But now, it was time that she did the same for him. His life was the prize within this war…As long as Serph was alive, this war would progress…

She gulped at that thought.

The Brutes only had one goal; to defeat Serph and Serph alone. The army and its staff mattered not. It was the leader's life or its lack thereof that determined whether the tribe would succumb to the other tribes or not…

Argilla wanted to cry right there. She knew that she was being sappy; but she didn't care. Her heart felt ever as heavy as the seconds ticked by. Her soul burned with the spirit of agony as she continued to be far from him…

It didn't matter to her whether he loved her or not; all that mattered was that she be there for him the way he was there for her.

She gripped the door of the jeep tightly as her eyebrows furrowed. Her heart raced nervously, "Serph…I'll be there soon…I'll protect you…" she whispered, too wrapped in her own thoughts and emotions to know that her partner had been keenly observing her for the past five minutes.

If only she looked…If only she had taken a split second from her life and stole a glance at the man beside her, she would've seen the look of sheer frustration of desperation that was etched onto his features…

But she didn't…

Heat didn't know how to explain what he was feeling at that moment…He felt so…insignificant. Yes. That was the word. Whenever he and Argilla were together, he felt at ease because with her, he could be himself. There wasn't anything that he needed to hide.

She had already seen him at his worst…

Whenever they would make love, he was confident since he knew that she looked only at him…

That was why he would smile at different times of the day in such a way that other people would find as disturbing or macabre.

But only now did he realize that it was just so _because_ they were alone.

He was her whole world when they were together because he was the only one there.

However, should he be compared to Serph…he would visibly shrink. He didn't matter to her anymore.

Like now.

Serph was the only person that she thought of; he was the only one that she worried for. He could see it in her eyes. He sighed; he had been foolish…

Pain suddenly gripped his heart; he had wanted so much to believe in salvation. When Sera had broken his heart, he didn't believe in the fullness or richness of life…Back then, there was only darkness and uncertainty ahead of him…

But then, he met her…his Argilla…

They had become friends…comrades…and more…

Yes…

And along the way…

Heat gritted his teeth as the pain continued to eat away at his gut.

And along the way…he fell in love with her. And at that time, he believed in salvation. He believed that it was she who would deliver him from the damnation that he himself had sentenced upon him.

But now…She had hurt him even more as he heard her whisper. Yes; he wasn't deaf…He heard it all too clearly…

He knew it.

He knew that it had been utter and total foolishness to have hoped and believed in it in the first place.

xxxxx

They arrived at Muladhara within an hour. Argilla immediately hopped out of the jeep and ran for the HQ building without a word or as much of a glance towards Heat. Heat could only look on after her running form, numb.

How could he feel anything when she possessed his heart?

Sighing, he ran after her.

Argilla blurred through the streets where she saw that the army had already assembled. Platoons after platoons were being assembled while the civilians were being taken away at shelters.

She couldn't believe that it was really happening. She cursed herself; hoping for long-term peace was an impossibility.

Finally, she reached the HQ building. She dashed through its hallways and burst through the Strategy Room, "Serph!!" she yelled immediately as soon as she entered, her eyes, as wide as saucers, scanning from left to right for her silver-haired hero.

She found him at the center of the room. She felt a wave of relief and without further words, ignoring the looks of surprise from both Cielo and Gale, she ran to Serph and threw her arms around him neck, kissing him chastely on the lips before burying her face on his chest, "Are you okay…?" she whispered.

He chuckled, "I'm fine…"

Heat's heart stopped and the rest of the world blurred and became obscured as he saw Argilla run to Serph, embrace him and kiss him. She was so full of life…She was back to her old self.

Heat wanted to stab himself at that moment…

It was because of him that she had lost herself…That she had become…diminished over the past few days…In all of their days and nights within the bunker, he had rarely, practically never, seen Argilla the way she was now…

There was nothing he could do anyway…

Once more…all he could do was watch the woman he loved from afar. He could do nothing as another man held her…A sad sigh threatened to escape from him. But no; he wouldn't let it get the better of him. He still had some amount of pride.

A moment later, Serph and Argilla broke apart and Heat met Serph's silver eyes, only to have them redirected at Argilla, "Welcome back Heat, Argilla. But I'm afraid the pleasantries would have to end there. As you all know the Brutes had finally launched their offensive against us."

Argilla stiffened as her face hardened, 'So it was an invasion after all…'

"This time though, they had launched a full-scale attack. They hope to penetrate our tight defenses by pushing through our only weak point. The south depot."

Argilla's eyes narrowed, "That's why you sent us there…"

Heat said nothing; he wanted to know what went on within Serph's head. He wanted to know the justification for him being there in that bunker.

Serph nodded, "Yes. I sent you two there to plant the mines. That was all."

"Why just two?" Argilla asked, crossing her arms.

Serph smiled at her, his eyes twinkling mischievously. Argilla blushed; what the hell did that mean? Before she could read Serph's eyes, Gale spoke, "He decided to send the two of you so that the Brutes wouldn't suspect that we have suddenly decided to fortify the place."

Cielo nodded, "We couldn't afford to be noisy ja?"

Heat looked at them lazily, "You guys figured that even if the Brutes saw us, they wouldn't think that we'd be too much of a threat since there were only the two of us. But they wouldn't have killed us either since if they did, the HQ would be missing us."

Serph nodded, "Yes."

Argilla raised an eyebrow, "You sent us there to make a landmine…It seems to me that you knew about this invasion all along. What were you planning to do?"

Serph turned to her and smiled, "Ah…Well…it's simple really. The Brutes draw their strength from their momentum. They are more of soldiers than we are really…" Serph grinned sheepishly, scratching his head.

"For them, morale is everything." Gale completed for Serph. He paused and then continued, "If we could break their formation and slow them down, breaking their momentum, the men would lose their morale. It's a long way from Ajna. They had probably been en route to Muladhara for at least a few hours. It would make their men weary. This is when they'll take over that depot, use its facilities and kill you two." Gale finished impassively, his face expressionless.

Heat spat, "Tch…"

Serph grinned, "Yes…but when they enter the five-mile radius…the AT mines would detonate. But if they try to remove the AT mines, the AP mines would detonate."

Argilla scratched her head, "You had us install those mines on our fourth day there! Why?"

Gale grinned; it kind of freaked Heat out at seeing it though. He never figured Gale to be the type who grinned.

"Don't underestimate our Intelligence Department Argilla. We knew that they spied on the depot from your first day to the third day. It's a long way to Ajna and our jamming dishes would disable their transmitters. Even if they leave our dishes' ranges, they still wouldn't be able to report back; you need more sophisticated communications equipment if you were to do that…But it would be near impossible to bring. After all, they still had to evade our patrolling squads. They wouldn't be able to report anything…"

He paused, touching his forehead and then continued, "The fourth day though, they would not be present. It would be the perfect time for you two to make the minefield. That's because if they continued to watch the depot, there would be a lapse of at least twelve hours in their communications chain; the information is practically useless most especially at the event of an impending attack. They would think that any other information gathered was a waste of time and manpower. Think from their perspective; what can those two soldiers within that pathetic bunker do that would threaten their offensive? Absolutely nothing."

Argilla narrowed her pink eyes at that; yes…The Brutes had the tendency to boast their power…They were all about strength. They had probably underestimated her and Heat's capabilities from day one. Well, that was their mistake.

"Also," Gale continued, "their army would be too preoccupied in preparation. In order to maneuver such a large combination of artillery and infantry they needed time; a few days, to be exact, to place their troops correctly."

Heat had had enough, "Forget that crap. Now, what do we do?"

Serph turned to him and looked at him steadily, "You're right. We haven't much time. By the time their army gets here, it'll be in shambles."

Gale nodded, "Yes. They would've probably lost fifty percent of their mobility…providing that no catastrophe kills had been dealt with by the AT mines. But that is unlikely. The chances of AT mines delivering a catastrophe kill are more or less eighty percent probability. In that case, we needn't worry. Only the elite team from the Brutes would survive along with a small percentage of their infantry and heavy artillery. That is the most probable."

"That is why we plan to lead the army itself. Varin is not the sneaky type." Gale concluded, shaking his head, "That is why he would most probably attack head on. It's such a waste. His inflexible mind is what limited his strategic options."

"So wat now mon?" Cielo asked, seemingly all the more confused, "We just wait here?"

Argilla chuckled and wrapped a hand on his arm playfully, "Well…pretty much…Right Gale?"

Gale nodded, "Yes. There isn't a need for us to draw our army out into the sun and sand. That is what he would be wanting us to do. Under the sun, without support and supplies, the army would perish. No. We would wait here. When they are within the three-mile mark, that is when we finish them off."

"How do you know Varin wouldn't just turn back and withdraw?" came Heat's skeptic question.

Serph shook his head, "Varin is a man of valor; he wouldn't be able to look his tribesmen in the eye should he do that. No. He wouldn't." His silver eyes suddenly hardened and became cold, "This would be it. This is the last fight."

"How long had you and Gale been planning this?" Argilla asked.

Serph and Gale grinned and said in unison, "About a year."

Argilla saw stars; they'd been planning this for a year?

Serph nodded, "We had to make it convincing. We had to let them see that the southern part was the weak point. We had to convince them too. That was the tricky part…That's why it took so long…"

Argilla wanted to bash Serph's head in at that moment.

"When will they get here?" Heat asked, bored.

"Assemble here at sunrise." Serph said, "Dismissed."

xxxxx

Sunrise huh? Argilla sighed; she couldn't really care for sunrise. Serph had told her to get some rest…She frowned. It was 0100 hours. She had been asleep for almost four hours since her and Heat's arrival at 2100 hours.

Knowing that the impending battle drew ever nearer and came ever closer, it was all the more reason for her _not_ to sleep.

She took a deep breath. She was still in bed; back in her room. She smiled a bit, 'I never thought that I'd miss this dump…' she chuckled to herself.

She wondered for a moment…

She wondered about Heat; where was he…? What was he doing now? She frowned as she remembered the fight that they had. It wasn't even a fight; not really. She had instigated the entire thing anyway…

She pouted, "I just can't stay with him…I just…"

'Can't accept things the way they are.'

Yes. That was the problem. She hated being too close to him yet not close enough for her to love him and for him to love her. She hated being a lover to him and yet not being a loved one to him. And she hated that he dreamed of Sera and whispered her name while it was she that he had lain down with.

She hated it all.

Being that way, how did he expect her to be happy? She sighed sadly, 'Stupid, stupid! I shouldn't have done it!'

"Shouldn't have done what?" a voice said.

Argilla immediately sat up and grabbed her blanket, bringing it close to her chest, "Serph! What are you doing here?!" blood rushed to her face; he shouldn't be there! She wasn't even properly dressed!

But with all things being equal, there was a curious feeling within her heart. So, if she…

'I love Heat…'

If she loved Heat, what did that entail for Serph? She blinked and stared within his silver eyes as he sat down by her bedside, smiling at her. She was lost within them once more…But this time…it was different. When she fell within his eyes, she felt…warm and protected…

She was glad. But still, the feeling was different…There was no fire; there wasn't the searing flame of passion; not anymore…

'Unlike Heat's eyes…'

Yes. She had finally come to terms with it. This was the end game; the last battle. There was no longer the need to pretend. In the upcoming battle, they could die…This was her last chance…

She had finally accepted it.

She had fallen in love with Heat…and Serph…He was right. She smiled within her mind; Serph was a big part of her life and he still is…but…it was only as a friend…

'A brother…' she thought with a chuckle. Before, she used to damn his words. His words that told her that he loved her as a friend…and now, she was repeating them, only reversing the positions.

It was ironic really.

Serph was happy; he had achieved both of his ambitions. As he looked within her eyes, he knew that she wasn't even there. She was somewhere far away; thinking of someone else.

He already knew who it was.

She was in a trance and so, in order to break her off it, he spoke, "Did you tell him?"

He gave himself a mental pat in the back as she blinked and looked at him, "Tell who what?"

Serph chuckled as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it firmly, "Heat. You should tell him how you feel."

She frowned; he knew?

Suddenly, he drew her closer to him in a tight embrace, and whispered, "Take a chance."

She stiffened as she heard his words; it had been the same thing that he told her so many moons ago…And even after breaking her heart at that time, he wanted her to take a chance again?

Serph slid his hand up and down her spine, "You or he might die today…I pray that it will never happen…because I will lay down my life first…in order to save yours…But be that as it may, all I'm saying is that this may be your last chance to tell him…"

He then pulled away from her and saw that she had a warmly smiling face. She nodded. Good. She understood. No words were further required for this…

He nodded back and there, he stood, "I'll see you for the debriefing in 0500 hours." Leaning down, he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and left her with her thoughts.

Seconds after Serph had been gone, Argilla immediately got to her feet, the blanket still around her petite body and ran after him. She turned right and there she saw him, "Serph!"

He turned around and looked at her, "What is it?"

She ran to him and embraced him, "Thanks for the advice…my cute silver fox…"

That was what she used to call him when they were little; her cute silver fox…

He chuckled and returned her embrace, closing his eyes, "You're welcome pink bunny rabbit."

They pulled apart and looked within each others' eyes and smiled. He gave her a final squeeze before letting go…

Argilla smiled as she watched him go. She was free at last; she was free of her feelings for Serph and had finally accepted her feelings for Heat.

"Heat…" she whispered to no one.

xxxxx

Heat still couldn't get that thought out of his mind. Argilla had insinuated that he had hurt her…He frowned; he had done nothing.

Their relationship was perfect.

They needed each other and so engaged in a sexual relationship; but they were still friends. Nothing had changed.

Well, this was the only time that he had. He needed to talk to her. Making up his mind, he left his room and departed for hers.

'You should tell her now.'

'Shut up.'

'You should. After all, you might get yourself blown to smithereens dumbass. Then where would you be?'

Finally he conceded, '…Maybe…'

He hated to admit it, but his inner self had a point. This was war; he really shouldn't leave any loose ends in his life. He needed to tell her…

'Regardless of what she'll say…'

Yes. He would tell her about what he felt even if he knew that she would refuse him. He didn't care anymore whether she would accept him or not…All he knew was that he needed to tell her.

She needed to know. He would give her his heart…without asking for anything in return; without asking for reciprocity of his deed.

What she did with his heart then, that was completely up to her.

He laughed bitterly; again, he would be putting his fate in a woman's hands…

He reached the familiar halls in which her room was situated within a few minutes and there, he felt his heart beginning to rush…His blood was beginning to stir…

He found himself…smiling.

He turned a corner; her room was just a few rooms down…He suddenly stopped. His eyes focused on what lay ahead of him. There, a several feet away from him was the woman of his affections…and his apparent rival…in a tight embrace.

Heat narrowed his eyes as his chest tightened, constricting him. He appraised her form from top to bottom, from head to toe. Her hair was slightly disheveled and loose and she wore nothing but a blanket around her body.

His breathing stopped as his eyes widened, now comprehending fully what had just transpired. She had had her wish granted…Serph had loved her back…didn't he? That was why…

'He's just leaving her room after they had sex.' he told himself bitterly, his eyes burning with anger, 'She slept with him…'

Clenching his hands into fists, he immediately turned around and walked away, seething. He sighed; he really planned on telling her…but it would prove to be a bit more difficult…It felt absolutely wrong and totally awkward to tell Argilla that he loved her right after she had just slept with Serph!

Heat was already imagining it.

It was the most idiotic thing he could do at the moment in his opinion.

He opened his eyes and found himself outside the barrack. He blinked; he didn't even notice that he had already gone that many steps…

It was raining again but he didn't care. He sat himself on the stairs just outside and there, let his thoughts wander…

He didn't get very far in his contemplation though as a female voice roused him from them, bringing him back to the painful reality, "Heat…?"

He immediately looked up and saw that it was Sera. He was surprised; he didn't think that she would speak to him again. He turned away from her warmly smiling face and cast his face on the floor, "I thought you didn't want to see me again."

Sera sighed and sat down beside him, "Oh Heat…don't be so overly dramatic."

Heat rolled his eyes, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

They reigned in silence once more.

Heat raised an eyebrow as he felt a hand on his own and looked at their hands, "Sera?"

She chuckled, "Where's your partner?"

"Argilla…?" Suddenly he saw a flash of her and Serph and his imagination ran wild, giving him false images of them being intimate. Immediately his eyes widened and he shook them off.

Sera chuckled, "She affects you that much huh?"

Heat growled, "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

She sighed, "I know…but I don't think I can…I can say the same for the rest of the army as well…There's tension everywhere…But still Heat…"

"What?" he growled; irritated. She was irritating him. Can't she just say what it was she wanted to say to him instead of beating around the bush like this?

"Someone's in love…" Sera cooed, annoying Heat.

Heat looked at her and made a face, "If anybody's in love it's you."

Sera blushed; he still knew how to read her. Much to Heat's surprise, he was actually happy that his little Sera found someone…

Wait.

His little Sera…?

He smiled; his feelings had finally been confirmed…This time it was for sure. Now, there wasn't a shred of doubt.

'I don't love her that way…'

"I'm not the only one in love…" she trailed off. She laid her head down on his shoulder; finally, it could be like the old times again…There was no malice no aloofness either. There was just she and him…like they were before.

"Does she know?"

"No." he told her gruffly.

"Why not?"

"She doesn't see me that way." he said gruffly and paused before continuing, "Besides, she's too wrapped up in someone else…" he finished, bitterness lacing his voice.

"…Oh…" she said knowingly. She paused and then spoke once more, "You should talk to her about it Heat…"

"…"

He suddenly stood and she did as well, "Sera, thanks for the advice. But right now, I want to cherish this little time we have together. When the sun rises, you'll be with your squad, and I'll be with mine. I'd see her there anyway…But you, I won't see you again until after the battle."

She smiled sadly at him, "Yeah…"

Suddenly, she lunged herself at him and embraced him tightly, "I missed you a lot…" He returned her embrace and smiled, "I missed you too…"

xxxxx

Argilla grabbed her jacket and hastily put it on. She needed to find Heat. She needed to tell him how she felt.

"Serph's right; if I don't, it'll drive me crazy."

She hastily left the barrack in search for him. A few minutes later, she reached his room. She knocked and knocked but there was no answer. She blinked; maybe he was by the park…by the bench.

She quickly turned around and left the barrack. She stopped in her tracks as she saw Heat…and Sera…in a tight embrace. Argilla cursed under her breath and immediately turned back within the corner and pressed her back against the wall.

From there, she stealthily peeked at them.

She sighed; she was too late.

Heat had finally won Sera's love.

She smiled sadly, "Oh well…It's for the best. It's great though that they finally are together. He had been loving her for God knows how long anyway…"

She had to stop herself from crying at that moment. She had lost not one but two men in her life. She let out a strangled breath as she began to walk away from the scene; she didn't know how much more she could take, looking at them…

She forced herself to straighten up, "The attack's at sunrise. I should focus on that…"

She forced a smile to grace her lips, "Besides, I should be happy for Heat."

That was right; she should happy for him. Wasn't that the real definition of love anyway? To be able to let go and sacrifice for the sake of the person she loved?

She sighed, 'Yeah…'

She should be happy for him…

'I am happy for him…Oh Heat…'

xxxxx

**A/N: **

**Catastrophe Kill:** Destroys the weapon system of the heavy artillery and disables its crew.


	10. Fate

**A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1. **

**WARNING: OOC, LANGUAGE, WAFF, FLUFF, LEMON**

**Chapter 10: Fate **

Argilla crossed her arms nervously as she walked with her team. They were to oversee the battle. It was half past 0600 hours and the battle had already commenced.

She was glad though.

The battle had gone the way Gale had predicted. Only half of the Brutes' army remained. The ground assault had practically been annihilated and only few remained. Their artillery had also been all but decimated.

But it was of little concern for the Embryon. Their artillery from outside Muladhara would finish it off…

But still, there had been the aerial assault.

Gale had told them that it was Varin's last trump card. Ground artillery was practically at the mercy of aerial bombardment.

That was why the jets, planes and apaches had been deployed. It had been a stalemate though. The Brutes lost their air force and so did they. Their battle was a tie.

But now…

That was why they were walking out of Muladhara. Serph had decided to offer them the terms of surrender. He wasn't a complete warlord. No. And the destruction of Ajna and all of its citizens weren't his objective.

Argilla's eyes blinked; it was still drizzling outside and the sun was hidden behind ominous clouds with its golden rays peeking through them shyly…

She wanted to smile a bit, 'A rainbow will come soon!' she beamed, 'That prat Heat! He didn't get to see the last…' she suddenly froze her thoughts as she realized that she had been thinking of Heat again.

She frowned, 'Get over it…He's gone.'

Listening to her desires though, she stole a glance at him and saw how resolute and serious he was. He didn't even look at her. She sighed; she really lost him…Didn't she?

Heat could feel her gaze on him; but what did it matter to him? She had already acquired Serph's heart.

'What the fuck does she want from me?' he growled inwardly, 'Does she want to fucking rub it in my face?! Or wait; maybe she feels sympathy for me…' he thought bitterly.

"Bitch." he muttered under his breath as he continued to move forward.

Argilla kept her focus onward; now wasn't the time to worry about Heat. They made their way out of Muladhara and there…a few feet away stood Varin and his team.

Serph regarded them evenly and stopped a few feet from them, "I offer you the chance of surrender."

Varin narrowed his eyes and laughed, "Are you serious boy? Did you really think that the leader of the Brutes would ever capitulate with the likes of you?

Serph's eyes became steely, "You haven't a choice; leader of the Brutes. Your army had been defeated. There is nothing left and should you continue this foolishness, you shall die here."

Varin laughed again, "I will never surrender _boy_." he drawled at the word "boy."

Serph eyed him casually, his countenance still as calm as before, "Then state your purpose."

Varin frowned at him and met his casual gaze with an intense one, "I've come to put an end to the bloodshed for the remainder of my troops. I came here for a proposition."

A proposition without bloodshed?

This piqued Serph's interest, "Go on."

Varin nodded, "For the absolute control of the Junkyard, I will relinquish the control of Ajna and all of the survivors of the war…provided that you defeat me in a sudden-death match."

Argilla's heart suddenly got caught up in her throat…Was Varin saying that…?

"It is so young leader. I come here to challenge you to a duel. Just you and me, right here and right now."

Gale narrowed his eyes and immediately came to Serph's side, keeping his voice low, "He's luring you out Serph. Should he defeat you…the whole war is over…Refuse him!"

Heat gritted his teeth; Varin was playing his cards well…He may have lost his army but it wouldn't matter should he defeat Serph.

'That old goat probably knows that Serph wouldn't refuse him…'

He stole a glance at Argilla; he read her eyes. She was worried stiff; there was much apprehension within her eyes. There was so much grief that he wanted to go over to her and wrap his arms around her…and tell her that all would be fine…

But he remained where he was…She didn't love him. It wouldn't be right if he did that anyway…Serph was still present after all…

Serph walked away from Gale, ignoring his suggestions, "I accept your challenge. But…I do have an addendum to your challenge."

"State it."

"Should I be defeated, treat the citizens and my men humanely."

Varin nodded, "Done. I swear it upon my pride as a warrior."

"Wait!"

All heads turned to the source of the voice. Serph blinked in surprise, "Argilla…what…?"

Argilla stepped forward, "I challenge your team to a sudden-death match! All of you for all of us!"

Serph narrowed his eyes and grabbed her arm, yanking her away from the front. He dragged her away from the front and stood there a few meters behind Gale and the others. Glaring, he whispered sharply to her, "What are you doing?!"

Gale came in, "She's trying to diversify the risks of defeat. If we all fight them simultaneously, the chances of us winning are greater."

Serph ignored him and stared at Argilla, angry, "I can't protect you…!"

Argilla snatched her arms from him and narrowed her eyes, "I'm a soldier Serph! I can protect myself! I…" she paused as she saw the sadness in his eyes, "I'm grown up now…"

Serph sighed as he heard her words pass through her lips…She was right; she was grown up now. She was free to make her own choices.

She touched his face, "This time, it's my turn to protect you…"

The others then joined them.

Heat was impressed…She was truly…strong. No longer the childish woman he was wondering about a few days ago but a woman; a soldier.

Despite the fact that she was doing all of this for Serph, he felt proud of her. Argilla looked at Cielo, Gale and finally, him, "Guys…I…"

The three of them nodded.

Gale touched his forehead, "I concur. Argilla's plan is sound."

Cielo grinned, "Yeah mon! Dere's no way I'd just hand Serph over!"

Heat grinned, "Bring it."

Argilla's heart was overwhelmed with happiness. She looked back at Serph.

Seeing him understanding, she smiled and walked forward, meeting Varin's eyes, "We challenge your team."

Varin raised an eyebrow, "What is your leader's decision woman?"

Serph walked from behind Argilla, "At this moment, I declare the control of Muladhara to be in the name of each of my teammates. Should I die, the control of Muladhara and all of our colonies would befall my teammate and should he die, it will be passed on to the next one in position. The control of Muladhara stays with Embryon up to the last of member of my team left alive. In the event of our deaths, Muladhara is yours. These are our terms. Do you accept?"

It was done so that the control of Muladhara would not fall to the event of Serph's fall. Muladhara and all of their colonies would be lost should all five of them die.

Varin crossed his arms, "We do. But the same terms apply to us. Should you defeat all of us, that is the only time when we can relinquish Ajna and all of our colonies."

Serph nodded, "So be it."

And so…

The battle commenced.

xxxxx

The grueling battle ensued…and the victors were in sight…Gale and Cielo had defeated their adversaries…

Heat gritted his teeth; he needed to finish this! He needed to watch how Argilla was doing. Evading his opponent's blow, he ducked and bypassed the other's defenses, a dagger in hand. A second later, his battle was won. He thrust the dagger upwards, hitting the young man's heart and twisted it.

A second later, he pulled the dagger out and let the body fall…

His eyes immediately went to Argilla. She too had defeated her adversary…The last was Serph…

Heat walked over to Argilla and saw that her eyes were fixed on Serph as he continued to fight Varin. Her countenance was that of a frightened child. He put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at him.

"He'll be fine…" he told her, reassuringly.

Argilla smiled, "H-he will…won't he?"

Heat repressed the desire to wince; at that moment as she said those words, he felt the stab of a dull knife within his heart. She really did love Serph…

He merely nodded, "Yes. Have faith in him."

Argilla's heart leapt as she saw Varin get too close to Serph only for Serph to dodge his attacks.

She didn't know how long she could keep watching…She turned her body and buried her face in her hands. Heat looked at her sympathetically. He wanted to help Serph…but…their laws had already been written. They cannot interfere…

Suddenly, he saw a red dot on Argilla's chest. His eyes widened; that wasn't a mere red mark…

"Snipers!!" he yelled as he pushed Argilla on the muddy ground, his body on top of hers. Immediately, bullets rained down…

"Snipers at six o'clock! Take them down!!" Gale yelled at the com link. Immediately, his own troops retaliated; their heavy artillery bombarding the Brutes' remaining vehicles…

Argilla looked at Heat, "You…you saved my life…"

He looked at her with narrowed eyes, "I'd save your ass any day…"

He paused for a moment then continued, "I love you…"

Argilla's world froze; at that moment, she forgot that she was on the ground in mud under enemy fire…She opened her mouth to speak when she heard an intense battle cry. She turned and saw that Serph had Varin on his knees.

They were victorious!

She was about to smile when she suddenly saw a red dot on Serph's forehead. Her heart stopped; she immediately pushed Heat off of her and dashed as fast as she could, "Serph!!"

Heat stood and ran after her, "Argilla…! No!!"

xxxxx

It had been two days now since the battle. Needless to say, Embryon had won the war. He narrowed his eyes; the fight was coming along well between Serph and Varin…until the snipers came that is. Heat had no doubt that Varin kept his word; but he wasn't so sure about his other followers. They seemed to have taken matters into their own hands…

They probably thought that they couldn't win anyway and so, broke the agreement.

'That's enough.' he told himself, 'That battle is over.'

He was right of course. It was time to look onward.

Heat walked along the walls of the infirmary. Almost every member of their team had been injured.

Well, except him and Serph.

He laughed at that.

The others could use more training. Can't they?

His heart felt lighter. Granted, he had been worried sick the moment the victor of the war had been named. He was worried because…

Flashback

"_Argilla…! No!!" _

_She had thrown herself in between Serph and Varin…She had received Varin's stab on the back and the sniper's bullet on the arm. _

_He rammed himself against Varin at that moment as he lunged himself at Argilla and Serph…Seeing Varin land a few feet away, he ran back to Argilla and cradled her in his arms, "Hey…! You stupid woman!" _

_Serph stood, "Take care of her." he said firmly. _

_Heat nodded and watched him dash for where Varin was. _

_Argilla smiled, "Hahaha…Hey…! Look…!" she said, pointing behind him, her voice a mere whisper. _

"_What?" he turned around sharply. His heart softened; it was a rainbow…She had been right; rainbows were indeed beautiful…_

_He turned to her, "It's a…" _

_His words died in his lips as the woman within his arms fell limp, her eyes closed. Panic gripped his heart, "Hey! Wake up! Don't die on me you…you…bitch! Argilla!" _

End Flashback

Well…he was glad though. She was alive. But she had still to wake up. That was why he made it a point to visit her every chance he got.

Serph was busy enlisting the surviving the Brutes into the tribe and then…there was the damage that the battle had done to their city.

It wasn't a lot but it couldn't be ignored. So, reconstruction had begun immediately. He himself was busy…But…nonetheless, he wanted to visit her.

He reached her room and slowly opened the door. He didn't want to disturb her…

He opened it and froze on his tracks. She was still asleep but she wasn't alone. Serph sat by her bedside, holding her hand, stroking it gently…

His breath got caught within his throat and suddenly, he just wanted to leave…Turning around, he started to walk away.

'She wouldn't need me to inspire her to wake up.' he thought sourly, 'Serph's there.'

xxxxx

Another two days had passed. Although there had been no change in Argilla's condition, he had found another reason why he should be happy. Sera had been unharmed during the fight.

He had spoken to her and she had been a bit disappointed at the battle.

Flashback

"_I didn't even get to leave the gates…My platoon was put on reserve…" she pouted childishly at him. _

_Heat raised an eyebrow, "You really didn't miss much…" _

_Sera stuck her tongue out at him, "You liar! I saw you! I saw Serph and your team fight the Brutes! You guys were so cool…" she said, her eyes beaming in pure astonishment. _

_Heat rolled his eyes, "It wasn't a walk in the park you know." _

_Sera pouted, "But still…Oh! Argilla…! I…" she stopped when she saw Heat's face. His face fell as grief overcame his soul once more. _

"_How is she…?" _

_Heat looked at her nonchalantly, concealing his concern, "She's still sleeping…" _

"_Oh…" _

_Heat wanted to be alone. He looked at Sera and embraced her tightly, "I'm glad that you're unharmed. Remember, you shouldn't kill needless…I didn't lie Sera…You really didn't miss anything out there…Bloodshed and killing is nothing to be excited over…"_

_He pulled away from her and peered within her innocent sparkling silver eyes, "Yeah. You know…I still can't believe that you're all grown up…" he said, chuckling. _

_She pouted, "I am grown up."_

_Heat sighed and hugged her tightly once more. Yes. She was…When he looked into her eyes only moments before, he just didn't want to accept it…People lose their innocence when they age…_

_He didn't want that for Sera…_

_But still, she was doing very well…It was now that he could truly say that he wasn't a complete failure of a guardian for her. Because within her eyes, her innocence remained unadulterated. _

End Flashback

He was on his way to the infirmary. He walked along the halls when he suddenly saw Sera. He blinked, "Hey Sera. What are you doing here?"

She blushed and Heat raised a suspicious eyebrow, "Uh huh…you're visiting someone." he deadpanned nonchalantly.

She blushed harder and nodded.

Heat made a face, "Your boyfriend."

Sera swallowed the lump in her throat, "Well…sort of…But he's not my boyfriend…"

Heat raised an eyebrow; why not?

Sensing his question, Sera nodded, "I didn't want to commit into a relationship without telling you first…"

Heat only had one question for her.

"Who is it? Let me see him." he told her seriously.

Sera sweat-dropped, "Please don't hurt him! Er…he's a nice guy…"

Heat looked at her innocently, "I won't hurt him. What makes you think I would?"

Sera made a sour face. Heat had beaten up all of her suitors when she was in her early teens. He growled and snarled at all the boys that would look at her.

"Forget it…" Sera replied, and then continued, "Well, would you like to meet him now?"

"Why not? I've got time to kill." he told her, smiling.

Sera sweat-dropped; there was just something in the way Heat said that that disturbed her. Nodding, she took his hand and led him through the hall and stopped in front of the door. Heat could feel his hair stand on one end.

This door.

He knew to whom it belonged to.

He looked back from the door to Sera and then back to the door again, 'Impossible…' he thought, shocked.

He couldn't believe it.

Sera, seeing the tense and frozen look of her big brother, opened the door and dragged him inside.

"Ey! Back already?" a convivial voice said.

Heat blinked, feeling his blood rush back to his veins furiously waking him from his cryogenically-frozen-like state and glared at the man within the bed, "You!" he yelled pointing an accusing finger on him.

"You!" the young man yelled back, fear etched within his eyes.

Sera got in between them, "You guys…know each other huh…?"

Heat turned his death-glare from the man to Sera, "Know him?! How could I not?! This is the team's idiot!" he said as he turned to his little Sera's boyfriend, who happened to be none other than Cielo.

Sera sweat-dropped, "That's mean…"

Heat turned to Cielo and stomped over to him furiously. He grabbed the injured man by his hospital gown and pulled him upwards. Sera bit her bottom lip nervously, "Heat! You promised you wouldn't hurt him!"

Heat, still hanging onto Cielo, turned to her and blinked, "I haven't laid a finger on him."

"Sera…! Help!" Cielo said in a strangled voice.

Sera held Heat's arm, "Please put him down!"

Hearing her plead, Heat rolled his eyes and dropped the young man. He crossed his arms and winced as he saw how his little Sera doted on the idiot, inspecting him for wounds. He shivered as he heard her whisper affectionate "Are you okay?" and "Where does it hurt?" questions.

Clearly he was surprised. No. That wasn't the word. He was shocked.

He knew that his little sister had fallen for someone…Who would've thought that it had been the idiot? Out of all people!

He sighed as he saw Sera move out of the way. She smiled at him, "Heat…big brother…this is my boyfriend, Cielo."

"Hiya!" Cielo chirped cheerfully.

Heat winced, "I thought you said he wasn't your boyfriend?"

Sera smiled, "He wasn't…but now, since you already know him, he is."

Heat could feel his head throbbing in pain. He closed his eyes and sat down; it was all too much to take in too soon.

"Heat…?" Sera asked, "You okay?"

Heat opened his eyes and nodded feebly, "I'm fine."

"See Sera? He's fine! And I thought you said dat he was…"

At hearing his pestering voice, Heat leapt to his feet and grabbed Cielo again, "If I hear you as little as yell at Sera I will personally skin you alive…! You understand?!"

Cielo gulped and nodded his head vigorously, "O-of course…! Hehehehe…"

Sera winced again and yanked Heat's arm from Cielo. Heat sighed and calmed himself. He looked at Sera, "As long as you're happy, I'm fine with it." he said in an exhausted voice.

Sera smiled and hugged him, "Thanks Heat."

He returned her embrace, "Not a problem. Anything for you Sera."

He released her and looked at Cielo, glaring at him, "Remember what I said."

Gulping, Cielo nodded and said nothing. Heat looked at Sera once more, "Okay Sera. I have to go. I came here to-"

"Visit Argilla!" piped in Cielo cheerfully.

Heat looked at him venomously and nodded, "That's right. Want to make something out of it?"

"No! He doesn't…" Sera answered quickly, grabbing Heat's face so that he looked at her instead of her precious Cielo.

"Go on Heat. I'm sure you're late already." she said, urging him on. Heat nodded, "Yeah. I am." He then pecked Sera on the cheek, "Alright. I'll see you later." He looked at Cielo, and glared, "Take care of her."

Cielo smiled and nodded.

Heat growled and left the room. Closing the door behind him, he released a long breath.

'So that's the guy she fell for?!'

He shuddered; he never would've guessed.

His mind then recalled a memory.

"_Strength isn't everything Heat…" _

That was what she said to him a long time ago…That was probably the reason she fell in love with Cielo.

Heat made a sour face, 'She may have said that but she didn't say anything about the lack of intelligence which…is obviously what Cielo lacks.'

He could feel his heart rate climb. So, he departed for the lavatory. Once there, he splashed cold water on his face as he calmed himself. He allowed himself a few more serene moments before leaving.

He was walking towards Argilla's room, all thoughts of Sera and Cielo out of his head when he was suddenly met with Serph. Again, he felt awkward.

"Serph." he acknowledged the silver-haired man curtly.

Serph nodded, "Heat. I have news."

This piqued Heat's interest, "What news?"

Serph suddenly smiled, "Argilla…she…"

Heat suddenly wanted to punch his leader at that moment; what was he saying to him? She was what? Was he going to say that Argilla had said that she loved Serph and not him? Was that it?

"…has asked for you." he finished.

Heat wanted to push the rewind button. What?

"What?" he asked, skeptic.

Serph smiled again, "She's awake…She has asked to see you." With a nod and a friendly hit on the arm, Serph walked passed him.

Heat could only look on after him. He arched an eyebrow though when Serph stopped and turned back to look at him, a mischievous look on his face, "Oh and…"

Serph walked back to him and looked at him straight in the eyes, "Treat her right."

Heat didn't understand what it was he meant. Wait; did he even hear him right?

Heat looked at him questioningly and Serph's smiling face became an evil grin, "Because if you don't…" he leaned and whispered darkly, "I'll break your legs. I'll then castrate you and feed your balls to the dogs. Got that?"

Heat sweat-dropped and nodded.

"Good." Serph said cheerfully, and leaned back.

"Well, I have my duties to attend to. Inform me when something happens." With that, he was gone.

Heat smirked; Serph was the typical father. He had never seen Serph that serious before. Not even when they were fighting the Brutes!

He then turned and walked briskly towards her room. He reached it a moment later and opened the door, walking in, "Argilla…?"

He found her, sitting up. He walked over to her and she looked at him with a small smile on her face, "Hey you."

He grinned as he sat by her bedside, "Hey there yourself ma'am."

Argilla chuckled and rolled her eyes, "Stop calling me that. I'm not on duty…Besides, it makes me sound old…"

He nodded, "Deal."

He looked at her and noticed that her hair was down…She looked beautiful. His hand suddenly reached out to touch her face and she didn't object. Heat lightly touched her face, memorizing its contour and stopped on her lips. He stared her in the eyes, "You acted like a hero out there." he said, frowning a bit.

It was a common saying for them there in the marine corp. No one was to act like a hero. It was because heroes seldom lived. It was usually an act of foolishness.

She stared back at him, her pink eyes searching his, "I did it for someone I love…"

Again, the soul-stirring pain returned and once more held his spirit prisoner. But nonetheless he tried his best to conceal it from her. Instead of showing her his weakness, he averted his gaze from hers and focused on her blanket instead, "Aa…Serph. You really love him."

She nodded, "Yeah. I do."

"Oh." he paused, "I saw him just outside. He said that you asked for me."

She chuckled, "Of course! I miss my partner in crime!"

'Partner in crime…partner in bed…What's the difference? Is that all I am to you?' he asked her internally, bitter.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sensing his distress.

His eyes immediately flew to hers, "Do you remember anything before you passed out?"

She blinked and thought hard. Then, she shook her head, "No…I don't."

The feeling of fragile hope that was growing within his chest suddenly withered and died, "Aa…I see."

"Why? Is there something that happened that's important?" she asked.

'Important…? No; nothing…Just me making a complete idiot of myself…'

He was brought back to reality as he felt a hand on his face, "Hey…What's wrong?"

Heat felt annoyed; he didn't want to pretend anymore, "Argilla. I love you." he deadpanned.

Argilla wasn't quite sure if she heard him correctly, "What?"

"I love you." he growled, irritated that she didn't seem to have heard him. Either that or she didn't understand him, in which both cases irritated him.

As the second ticked by in complete silence, Heat's heart imploded and exploded simultaneously. Cold sweat trickled down his temple. What was she going to tell him now?

Would she tell him to get lost or to…get out…or that she didn't love him?

Well, he had taken the chance.

He jumped.

At that moment, he was totally afraid…He had just thrown himself in the abyss of uncertainty…in the claws of fate…

The words that she would speak next would either save him…or damn him.

The second that came and went was replaced by another and then another. Realizing that she wasn't going to answer him, he stood. He wanted to leave; he had just made another fool of himself.

"Wait!" she said, grabbing his arm, "Where are you going?"

He looked at her dryly, "Gonna get some air." he said sourly.

Argilla smiled; she felt so happy…So she hadn't been imagining things…He did say that he did love her…She sighed and tugged at him to sit. He did as she persuaded and there, she tugged at him to sit on her bed, beside her.

Heat was still unsure of what she was doing. He was unsure and…scared.

He just didn't want to be led on. She wasn't telling him anything. Again, he was kept in the dark. He didn't want to be though.

"Listen, Argilla. Just tell me alright?"

"What?"

Heat rolled his eyes, "Just tell me what you're thinking. Let's make this quick. I have duties to attend to."

Argilla said nothing; he was just being his usual crude self. Being his friend for months…she knew him. She knew how to read him…Well, up to a certain extent of course.

She suddenly embraced him, "Heat…"

Heat wanted to return her embrace, but if this was an embrace for consolation, she could just forget it.

'I don't need pity.' he thought arrogantly.

"Heat…Thank you…"

"For what?"

"For loving me…" she whispered.

Heat looked at her; he could hear her. She was sobbing. He pulled her away from his chest and looked at her, his red eyes softening, "What's wrong?"

She looked at him with eyes that sparkled. Her eyes were brimming with tears, "Heat…I love you…"

Heat's eyes wanted to pop out of their sockets, "What?"

She laughed as she heard him repeat her question only moments before, "You dope!"

Heat's heart fluttered and held her again, tightly this time, "You're not pulling my leg…are you?"

She giggled as she buried her face in his chest, "No…I'm not…"

He pulled away, "What about Serph?" he asked, his eyes peering into her very soul.

Argilla smiled reassuringly and caressed his face, "I love you…Not him…Just you…"

Seeing the doubt linger within his red orbs, Argilla drew his face towards hers and there, leaned in for a kiss. Heat sighed in contentment as he felt her soft lips on his…She nibbled on his lower lip…shyly asking for entrance.

He slowly parted his lips and there, their kiss deepened. His hands cupped her face and caressed it gently.

Their kiss was slow…gentle…and tender…

Heat kissed her with all of the gentleness that he could muster, treating her as if she were a porcelain doll that could easily break…

His tongue flicked hers gently yet passionately…Never lashing out…Just dancing with hers. She moaned within his mouth and he felt himself swell in pride…and happiness.

She suddenly pulled away. Heat looked at her and saw her pouting. He resisted the urge to kiss her right there.

"What's up?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

She made a face, "What about Sera?"

Heat laughed, "I love Sera…as a sister." he finished seriously; his eyes penetrating hers as a sign of utter sincerity.

Argilla's eyelashes batted rapidly; really? When did that happen?

Heat, seeing the question in her eyes, tried his best to answer it, "I don't know exactly. I just realized it when we were at the depot. I didn't even think much of her then." He shrugged his shoulders, "Oh, and did you know that she's actually dating Cielo?"

Argilla's eyes dilated at such an extreme percentage that Heat actually thought that they would drop from their sockets.

He sweat-dropped, "I had that reaction too."

Heat suddenly frowned; and now, it was Argilla's turn to ask, "What's with the face?"

Heat looked at her, "Just before the invasion, I came by your room…and I saw Serph leaving and…well…aah…"

Argilla was laughing within her mind as she saw Heat grapple for words. Just what was it that he was trying to say anyway?

"I saw you and…" he furrowed his eyebrows; this was getting nowhere. He was just going to have to face it. There was no going around it.

Screw being polite.

"Did you have sex with him that night?" he asked her in an unrefined and brutish manner.

Argilla froze as she felt something within her snap.

"What?!" she yelled, "Me? Sleep with Serph?" she asked incredulously.

Heat blushed but used it as a leverage to feign anger instead, "What?! You were the one in nothing but a blanket hugging him in the middle of the hallway!" he accused.

Argilla's widened eyes widened still as she took a second to piece together what her response would be.

She took a deep breath and slowly released it, "I did not sleep with him. I was only in my nightie at the moment. I had something to tell him so I ran after him. That was all."

Heat looked unconvinced.

She sighed, "He came into my room and well, our conversation ended in him leaving and me not saying anything. When I finally felt like talking, he was gone, so I ran after him."

Now, Heat looked satisfied. Her answer would suffice, "Oh okay." he said, feeling relieved.

Suddenly, Argilla wrinkled her nose, "My God! Me? Sleep with Serph?! It's like…" she paused and her eyes widened once more, "It's like sleeping with your father! Eww…"

Heat blanched at that. Yes…that _was_ a freaky thought.

xxxxx

It had been a month now since Argilla's confinement from the infirmary. Her wounds had long since healed. She had been released a few days ago…And now, she had lived with Heat.

Serph and Argilla found themselves upon the railing once more…It was a cool night with the breeze blowing gently at them.

Argilla hugged Serph's arm and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Serph…?"

"What is it?" he asked; cheerfulness evident in his voice.

"Why did you send Heat and I at that depot?"

"I thought Gale already explained that." he said, chuckling.

She snorted and raised her head from his shoulder and playfully slapped his arm, "Yeah right. I remember your face at the strategy room Serph. Now spill it!"

He sweat-dropped, and touched his chin in thought as he looked up at the stars, "Hm…Well, to tell you the truth, it was for you and Heat."

"Me and Heat? What does that mean?" she asked in confusion.

Serph looked at her with a playful expression, "It just seemed to me that you and Heat…were interested in one another. But, knowing you and your stubborn personality, you'd never realize it. And he was the same way; he liked you. So…I just thought that I should give you a little push…and see what happens."

Argilla looked at him with a lazy expression and slapped his arm again, "It was you?! You knew?! You sent us there…so that…we might…you know?!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Hey! I never sent you two there for anything but safe and clean reasons. Why…? Have you been naughty?" he asked her playfully.

She blushed but sneered, "No." she lied.

Serph laughed, "Whatever you say."

Argilla gritted her teeth as she wrestled with her inner self to stop the blush on her face, "So I suppose you proved yourself right eh?"

Serph chuckled, "I suppose so pink bunny rabbit."

"Shut up cute silver fox…"

The two laughed and again, wrapping one another in each other's arms…

"Say…Serph." she said again.

"Hm?" he asked back, unmoving from his current position, as he continued to smell her hair, his hands tight around her.

"What happened to the whole 'fraternizing with you CO thing'?" she asked curiously, "I mean, aren't Heat and I breaking the rules?" she asked.

He chuckled, "You know me best Argilla. You should be able to know when I'm lying."

She pulled away at that moment and looked at him with widened eyes, her voice faltering, "W-what?"

His silver eyes twinkled, "It's just a technicality Argilla. Technically, you're not allowed to do it. But…in these times, with having no firm government, rules change. Sure, we've defeated the other tribes…but there would be others. The world is in shambles…No one would really be noticing technicalities anyway…"

He paused and then chuckled again, "Well if you really want to follow the rules by the book…you could always retire from the army, marry Heat and be his wife."

Argilla shot him a dirty look and slapped him playfully, "Me? Be a…a…a housewife?!" she asked, aghast.

He chuckled and looked at her with feigned seriousness, "Well…nothing much has to change. You'd still live in the barrack. The only thing is…you won't have to participate in missions and would have to wait on Heat day and night…"

Argilla couldn't bear to hear any more and squealed in extreme irritation, pounding on his chest, "Stop it! Stop it!! Shut up!"

Serph chuckled and hugged her again, effectively disarming her and her pesky hands, "I'm just kidding…I'm just kidding…"

She growled, "You better be!"

Serph hugged her tight and laughed. A moment later, Argilla joined him in his laugh…

'Mission Accomplished…' Serph thought with a sigh of triumph and relief. He had succeeded; his Argilla was happy. That was all that mattered to him anyway.

Finally, he could delete the "Operation: Get Heat and Argilla Together" mission from his personal log and journal.

He chuckled at that thought. It was a tricky and messy sort of mission and he never want to have anything to do with a mission of that sort ever again.

xxxxx

Argilla entered the room that she had shared with Heat. She had just been with Serph and he was the one who had dropped her off only moments before. She repressed a chuckle; she could see how uncomfortable Serph was as he was dropping off his "daughter" to her lover's room.

Well, when she thought about it, it was pretty freaky.

"Hey. How was it?" a male voice asked from within the room.

Argilla smiled and saw him seated on the chair, reading.

She raised an eyebrow, "It's fine. Hey, what are you reading? Porn?" she snorted.

Heat rolled his eyes, "No. It's the new catalogue for our artillery vehicles; including the latest modifications on the tanks and-" Argilla put up her palm, telling him to be quiet.

And be quiet he did.

She sighed and sat on the bed, removing her boots, "I'm tired…"

Heat grinned and turned off the lights.

"Hey!"

A moment later, she felt his weight sink in the bed and there, he pressed himself against her. She immediately sat up and so did he…

Argilla reached for the lampshade and switched it on. Their eyes met. No more games…no more jokes.

The smiles slowly faded from their faces and they both leaned in. Their lips met in a gentle kiss…

Heat slowly unclothed her, gently unwrapping her body from her apparel, slowly, deliberately…He wanted to do this right this time…Their first time had been messy…and totally meaningless…

But now, he wanted to make amends for it…

Argilla shivered as Heat removed her corset from her awaiting body…The chilly air pricked her skin like needles. Heat looked at her and smiled, then, leaning in, he kissed her…

From their sitting positions, he slowly pushed her on his bed…to which she complied. She lay on his bed and moaned as she kissed him deeply. She could feel his hands wandering to her knees…And there, he slowly removed her skirt from her…She lifted her hips a bit as she aided him…

A moment later, it was completely off of her and she heard nothing but the cloth's flap in the air as Heat hurled it…landing somewhere randomly.

His lips left hers and kissed her cheeks tenderly…then her nose…and then her eyelids…and her forehead…and finally, her chin. His lips then traveled to her neck where it settled on her throat, nipping on the skin lightly. She groaned, "Heat…" as she felt his lips on her throat…and then, on her neck…by her jugular…

Argilla opened her eyes lazily and smiled; her lover was still fully clothed…That wasn't fair…Her meek little hands slowly went to his neck and there, she unclasped his cloak from him, letting it drop. Heat pulled away and grin, "First thing's first…"

She looked at him questioningly.

He chuckled and kissed her again…and soon, again, his lips left and resumed is kissing raids along her skin…on her shoulder. From there, he nuzzled the straps of her bra teasingly and slowly slid them off with his nose and then his kisses…

His other hand went for the other strap and slid it off…Then, he embraced her…While his arms encased her body protectively, his hands reached for the hook of her black lacy bra and there, unhooked it, freeing her ample breasts…

His tongue flicked the skin on her neck naughtily…and there as his hands retreated from her back and returned to her chest, massaging her breasts gently. Feeling his arousal grow as he touched her, his felt his frustration rise and there, he bit her jugular, sinking his teeth in, drawing blood.

"Aa…!" she yelped as he bit her…It was a mixed feeling; the mixture of pain and pleasure…molding together, bringing her the culmination of such a sensation that she deemed…unfathomable…

His hands then meandered to other parts of her body, trailing feather-light touches on her flat stomach and then over to her shapely thighs…earning him another moan from her.

"Heat…"

He chuckled as he could practically hear her heart beating even faster…She was getting restless.

His fingers went to the edge of her black panties and played with the fabric tauntingly…She grunted, "Heat…!" she protested.

"What?" he asked innocently; halting his kisses.

She pouted at him, her full and luscious lips enlarging themselves at him. He found that too cute…

"Stop teasing…!" she squealed.

He chuckled, "Who's teasing?"

She growled at him, "Hurry up already…!"

Heat didn't say anything and chuckled instead, kissing her again, silencing her. His fingers once more set their naughty work on her panties…This time, he heeded her words and slowly pulled her underwear down…He slipped them down her thighs and down her legs completely.

His slender fingers slowly touched her bare legs, leaving electrifying sensations in its wake. He could feel her shivering beneath him and he chuckled once more.

He broke the kiss and there dove for her ample chest, suckling her right breast eagerly. Argilla was seeing stars as she opened her eyes; her pink orbs dilating in sheer pleasure. His hands touched her knees and urged them to part.

His lips left her breast and from there, a faint line of saliva trailed from his lips to her breast. He then nestled himself comfortably in between her legs. His hands massaged her legs appreciatively as he looked at her bare body.

His eyes became foggy with lust as his manhood jolted awake at the mere sight of her. She grinned at him and raised her torso to look at him properly, supporting her weight by being on her elbows, "What…? You're looking at me funny…"

He snapped out of his daze and smirked, "Must be your imagination…"

He tackled her and kissed her once more, letting the words that were planning to spill die within her lips. His fingers touched her thighs again and from there, his slender fingers made their way to her soft pink rose in between her legs.

Argilla growled within his mouth and grabbed hold of his shoulders, pulling him closer to her, wanting to share in his body heat. She squealed suddenly as she felt him cupping her womanhood in his palm.

She groaned; he was teasing her again!

Heat could feel her apprehension and so, he slipped two slender fingers within. She squealed within his mouth and dug her fingers into his skin at the sudden intrusion. His fingers moved fluidly within her tight port…

He wanted to chuckle at her reaction. Her body was shaking and her hips bucking, to match his fingers' thrusts. He then entered the third finger within her tight and wet core and thrust within…

His lips left hers and he sat up in between her parted legs as he continued to thrust his fingers.

Argilla moaned and grabbed the sheets instead as Heat moved away. She shut her eyes tightly, "Heat…!" she yelled as she reached her oblivion.

She opened her eyes and stared dully at the ceiling. Her mouth hung agape from the bliss that she had just experienced.

She didn't know how long she had spaced out but the next thing she knew, his hands were on her face and his eyes piercing hers, "Hey…You okay?"

She blinked and looked at him; she blushed as she saw that he was completely bare in front of her.

"I'm okay…" she whispered, caressing his face.

He nodded and there, he positioned himself right by her entrance. He looked at her once more…as if it were their first time together.

Heat knew that there wouldn't be any pain…It was just that he didn't want to surprise her. No; he had done that the last time and he didn't even know that it was her first time. He didn't want to be selfish just as he had been at that time.

This time, he wanted to go slow.

She nodded, giving him her confirmation.

Heat nodded and slowly pushed in. He leaned in and hugged her tightly as his manhood remained wedged within her tight passage. Argilla buried her face in the crook of his neck as she tightly held him close to her, her smooth yet strong legs encasing his waist protectively.

She smiled; this was how she imagined her first time would be…Slow and gentle…

Her lips neared his ear and she blew him a gentle whisper, "Go on…"

He nodded and slowly moved. And that was how they continued for the next few minutes after which Heat picked up his pace and moved within her expertly…but never roughly…No, never again.

He didn't want to be rough with her again. He wanted to show her his gentle side…He wanted her to feel how protective he could be; letting her taste nothing but pleasure and warmth…

Heat's eyes burned in concentration as he continued to move within her. He gritted his teeth; she was still as tight as when he first took her…

Argilla closed her eyes and bit her lip to prevent herself from openly moaning as Heat's pace quickened still. She bucked her hips as fast as she could to match his…

Argilla's heart raced; they were nearing the end…She could feel it.

Heat could hear it now…the call of nirvana, as it rung freshly in his ears…He thrust within her as hard and as fast as he could and there, relinquished all control to fate…

The two cried out each other's names as they arrived at nirvana together…

Heat let his essence enter her body…surging furiously.

They had reached nirvana hand in hand. He was happy…He raised his head and looked at her; her eyes were closed but there played a quaint little smile lingering on her lips. She sighed and whispered, "Heat…"

He pecked her on the lips and slowly got off her, pulling out of her completely.

Then, he rolled onto his side of the bed and pulled her to him for a tight embrace, "Hey…"

Finally, she opened her eyes and smiled at him, "Thanks…I enjoyed that."

He chuckled, "Me too."

She sighed again and buried her face in his chest and from there, whispered, "I love you Heat…"

Heat held the woman in his arms tighter, "I love you too." he whispered back, kissing the top of her head.

"Say, Heat…you never did tell me my most awaited bedtime story." Argilla stated as a matter-of-factly.

Heat nodded, "Oh yeah. Totally forgot man. Sorry." he said sheepishly.

She snorted.

He sweat-dropped, "Aa…that night…That was the night that Sera told me that she would never want to see me again…Well, knowing me, I got myself drunk…"

Argilla frowned, "I'm sorry Heat…I shouldn't have brought that up…"

"Nah…it's okay man. It's the past. Besides," he pulled away from her and peered within her pink orbs, caressing her face, "there are so secrets between us Argilla. No secrets. I'll hide nothing from you. Nothing."

She smiled, "Yeah…No secrets…" she concurred, embracing him once more. She suddenly batted her eyelashes and licked her lips as she remembered something, "Heat…?" she asked, uncertain, as she hugged him.

"What?"

"Er…do you remember the time that you woke up with a bruise on your face?" she asked gently, trying to make her voice as meek and innocent as possible.

Heat raised an eyebrow and pulled away from her, peering within her pink pools, "Yeah. I hit my face on your vanity table."

Argilla sweat-dropped; he still bought that flimsy reason?

She sighed; "Actually…I hit you." she finished in a low tone.

"Huh?"

Argilla blushed, "You were drunk and you…you were coming onto me so…I knocked you out." she winced, smiling at him sheepishly.

Heat stared at her, dumbfounded and then chuckled, "I knew there was something not quite right about that story…" He grinned, "Well, it's okay though. I mean, I _was_ coming on too strong eh?"

She coughed, "Uh…yeah."

Heat sweat-dropped, "Hey, just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Don't do that when I try to seduce you."

She sneered, "And why not?"

He scratched his head and smiled lazily, "It's for a good cause."

She laughed at that and then, a moment later, so did he. Then, again, the two found themselves within each other's arms.

Heat sighed in contentment as he breathed in her sweet scent of lavender. He had been right; she really was made for him. Her hand was made for him to hold, her lips were made for him to kiss…

She was meant for him to protect…to cherish and to love…

Now, he really was her whole world. Now, there were no doubts, no second thoughts and most of all, no regrets.

Argilla was happy; she had finally become something more to him…No longer did she think that she was mere tool for him. She was still his friend, his comrade…but she had also become his soul mate…

This time, they didn't just join their bodies as a flight of fancy or as a way to escape the harsh realities of life or to elude the clutches of the future's agonies or the past's tragedies…

No.

This time, they had joined their bodies as one as a man and woman with nothing but love reigning within their hearts; there were no feelings of insecurity, no malice…no envy…no desire to forget.

A moment later, they departed for the realm of slumber with nothing but feelings of bliss…

They both had been victims of fate…but it was also through fate that they were able to find one another…It was because of fate that they had been able to find love amongst the ruins.

xxxxx

FIN


End file.
